Family eating together helps kids' weight control

     BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Children who regularly have meals with their families tend to enjoy better health and have a considerably(相当地) lower risk of obesity¹, an article in Monday's issue of Pediatrics said.

    The article said researchers have examined the findings² of 17 studies on child nutrition and eating patterns involving（涉及,包括） over 182,000 kids, including teenagers.

    The results show children and adolescents who share at least three family meals per week are more likely to be a healthy weight and less likely to have disordered eating than those who shared mealtimes less frequently.

    The children are also 20 percent less likely to eat junk food, 35 percent less likely to have eating problems like skipping meals or bingeing, and 24 percent more likely to eat vegetables and other healthy food.

    Child obesity has become a more and more serious health problem around the world, and the researchers encourage parents to share meals with their children more frequently.

    "It's important for parents to know what they can do, especially with obesity and eating habits," said study lead author Amber³ Hammons, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

3 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。