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practice applicationsEDITOR’S OUTLOOK

Summer: Time for Family Meals that Can Shape

the Future

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any of us grew up taking cer-tain things for granted. Sum-mer was the time for no school,

ore fun, and lots of meals shared withhe family. Whether sitting around aamp fire, savored at a favorite vaca-ion spot, or just enjoyed by the barbe-ue on the deck, summertime offeredndless opportunities to spend timeating with the family. Times change,ife has become more fast-paced. Activ-ties, sports events, business travel,ummer camp, and countless other dis-ractions have left many families ex-austed, disconnected, and eating

ndividually (in separate rooms, watch-ng separate televisions!) or on the runith no time for sharing the shopping,

ooking, and eating time together thatould have favorable influences onong-term health.

This month, Berge and colleaguesp 1036) report research from ProjectAT (Eating Among Teens) on familyeals and the impact of parenting

tyle on frequency of family mealsnd other behaviors associated withining together. The authors pointut the emerging data that documentmproved nutrient adequacy, weightontrol, and psychological/emotionalealth that have been associated withore frequent family meals. Authori-

ative parenting style was associatedith more frequent meals eaten to-ether among these adolescents andenerally better outcomes. The au-hors advocate that future researchhould build on these findings and de-elop possible interventions to helparents increase the frequency ofeal times together for all their many

enefits.

ONE FISHING?lso this month, Baik and colleagues

p 1018) report data from a prospec-ive Korean study regarding fish in-

ake, n-3 fatty acids, and incident p

2010 by the American Dietetic Associat

etabolic syndrome. Reporting re-ults from the Korean Genome Epide-iology Study among 3,504 men andomen who completed a food fre-uency questionnaire, intake of fishnd n-3 fatty acids was inversely as-ociated with incident metabolic syn-rome among men, but not women.urther studies are needed to eluci-ate possible mechanisms and ad-ress sex differences observed in thistudy. Also, please note the excellentditorial by Vannice (p 1014), whourther addresses the contributionsnd consideration of this researchtudy. With growing evidence regard-ng the value of fish and fish oil toelp reduce risk of a host of chroniciseases, cross-cultural data that fur-her document these associations arealuable and help offer insights onuantitative associations.

CHOOL’S OUT, BUT CONSIDERATION OFOOD INTAKE REMAINS A HIGHRIORITYith the obesity epidemic raging, in-

erest in primary prevention amonghildren remains a high priority. Ev-dence supports awareness that chil-ren are consuming too many calo-ies, too much saturated fat, and toouch sodium and sugar, contributing

o the obesity problem. School mealsepresent an urgent target for ad-ressing some of these problems.hese issues are carefully addressedy Fox (p 1010) in her Commentaryn improving food environments inchools. Both the National Schoolunch Program and the School Break-

ast Program offer valuable opportuni-ies for influencing the nutrient intakef American school children and, pref-rably, help to provide badly neededutrition education to help reinforcehe value and benefits of certain foodsnd eating styles. With sufficient sup-

ort, access to nutritious foods, appro- d

ion Journa

riate serving sizes, and daily exposureo these improved eating behaviors,here is hope for improvement amonghis vulnerable age group, especially asombined with increased physical ac-ivity. This approach could offer poten-ial benefits in reducing the pediatricbesity epidemic.

ESEARCH AND PRACTICENNOVATIONS—THE “NEW”ERSPECTIVES IN PRACTICElso this month, please see the Re-earch and Practice Innovations papery Sweitzer and colleagues (p 1058),ho provide qualitative research from

pilot study of lunch approacheso increasing fruits, vegetables, andhole grains in sack lunches of pre-

chool age children. These are forma-ive years, and offering nutritioushoices can potentially influence theuture diets and lifestyles of thesehildren. Please note that what wasormerly called “Perspectives in Prac-ice” has been replaced by this newormat called “Research and Practicennovations.” Please see the Authoruidelines for further details regard-

ng this format for manuscript prepa-ation. Publishing preliminary dataf this type in a peer-reviewed journaluch as this can become the very es-ence of a budding grant proposal.he Research and Practice Innova-ions category is intended to serveust this purpose.

Enjoy these and other valuable re-orts published this month.Best regards.

inda Van Horn, PhD, RDditor-in-Chief

oi: 10.1016/j.jada.2010.05.014

l of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION 989