According to a new research, people who follow a regular meal time routine and prefer bringing packed lunch at school instead of eating on the go have healthier diets.
TIME reports that results of a study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition show that college students who regularly ate breakfast, prepared lunch before going out, and had dinner at home consume healthier diets.
Preparing homemade meals that include fruits and vegetables instead of eating on the run help people avoid processed food and sugary beverages. Researchers added that those who eat take-out meals and food purchased online tend to eat less healthy.
"Factors most strongly associated with poor dietary patterns included eating on the run, using media while eating and purchasing foods/beverages on campus," the researchers wrote, while "protective meal routines and practices" were "positively associated with fruit/vegetable consumption," which should be commonly available at home.
Researchers also suggest that "in addition to considering specific food choices, it also may be important to consider the context of mealtimes in developing dietary messaging and guidelines."
According to the U.S. Dietary Guideline, "Americans eat too many calories and too much solid fat, added sugars, refined grains, and sodium," and "consume too little potassium; dietary fiber; calcium; vitamin D; unsaturated fatty acids from oils, nuts, and seafood; and other important nutrients."
The U.S. Dietary Guideline published in 2010 advises that having a healthy eating pattern should focus on "nutrient-dense foods" which include fruits, vegetables, fat-free or low-fat milk, whole grains, lean meats and poultry, eggs, seafood, beans, peas, and nuts, which should be "prepared without added solid fats, sugars, starches, and sodium"
Aside from eating healthy, it is also important to at least turn off the TV and "enjoy communication at the table with your family" while planning ahead for future meals, and "establish a healthy rhythm by keeping regular hours for meals."
