Keep your spouse, your kids, and yourself from becoming candidates for "The Biggest Loser." More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, which increases their risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, breast and colon cancer, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, sleep apnea, and infertility. You can help prevent these problems with regular family meals, which appear to contribute to healthy eating habits later. That's important since 18 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds, 20 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds, and 10 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds are already obese. Here's how to change your dinner table habits and increase the odds that your family members will be slim, trim, and healthy:
Eat earlier—and get to sleep earlier. If you're on a pushed-up schedule, you may find it easier to get more hours of shut-eye. That's a good idea since a growing body of research suggests that chronic sleep loss may increase your risk of obesity and weight gain. In other words, early to bed may make a man healthy, wealthy—and thin.
Make exercise your first "course." The American College of Sports Medicine recommends doing moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week—or vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, three days a week, and eight to 10 strength-training exercises twice a week. Make working out a family affair. Short bouts get the ACSM's OK. So you can ride bikes before dinner—and take a walk together afterward. For tips and inspiration, watch these videos.
Try buffet style. Set the table with plates and silverware, but not with food, says registered dietitian Toby Smithson, a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association. Then array your healthy choices on the kitchen counter or island, not in the center of the dining room table. "It's like putting the alarm clock farther away from your bed," says Smithson. "You have to think before you get up from the table." The idea: don't make it too simple to get seconds or thirds. "I'm not serving them like an old-fashioned woman would," says Smithson.
Understand portions. To gauge size, use your hand, says Smithson. "Your hands are always with you." A fist equals a half-cup of cooked veggies. Two fists equal one cup of raw veggies, milk, or yogurt. The tip of your thumb or the nail of your thumb equals a teaspoon (a serving of margarine, mayo, or oil), and your thumb from the knuckle to the tip equals a tablespoon (a serving of salad dressing). If you're going to serve chocolate (not too often!), keep it to the size of a thumb—or better yet, the tip of the thumb, says Smithson, who is also community dietitian for the Lake County Health Department in Waukegan, Ill.
Encourage everyone to fill half the plate with veggies. Typically Americans make the meat portion the biggest part of their dish, says Smithson. Switch it up. Make sure kids understand why veggies are their best bet. (They're low cal but full of fiber and vitamins.) Resist the urge to serve the same old peas and spinach too often. Try collard greens, kale, bok choy, and okra. For more on vegetables (and other foods), see the U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPyramid.gov.
Enjoy other benefits of family dinners. They may even help keep your kids away from drugs, according to researchers at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. They even started a national initiative called Family Day—A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children (celebrated nationwide on Sept. 27 this year).
Educate your kids. Or, as Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young would say, teach your children well. You want them to know about nutrition, not just the three R's. Get them to help you choose healthy menus and shop for ingredients. (Use advice from In Defense of Food author Michael Pollan. A few of his tips: Shop the perimeter of grocery stores, and don't buy your food where you buy your gas.) For more tips, see the American Dietetic Association's eatright.org. And remember to be a good role model. That means your pre-dinner snack should be carrot sticks, not potato chips. And your dessert should be watermelon, not a root beer float.
Serve fruit for dessert. It's healthy—and easy. "Fruit is like the first fast food that was invented," says Smithson. "Buy an apple or orange. You don't have to do any food prep."
How often do you eat dinners together? And do you think they help keep your family slim?