RESEARCH ARTICLE Family Meal Frequency and Association with Household Food Availability in United States Multi-Person Households: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2010

Objective Family meals are associated with a healthier diet among children and adolescents, but how family meal frequency varies in the U.S. population overall by household food availability and sociodemographic characteristics is not well characterized. Design The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007–2010 assessed the fre-quency of family meals eaten at home in the past week and the household availability of fruits, dark green vegetables, salty snacks, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Setting Computer-assisted face-to-face interviews with a selected adult (18 years) who owned or rented the home (i.e., the household reference person). Subjects We analyzed information on family meal frequency for 18,031 participants living in multi-per-son households in relation to sociodemographic characteristics and food availability. Results Among the U.S. population living in households of two or more individuals, the prevalence (95 % confidence interval) of having 0–2, 3–6 and7 family meals/week was 18.0 % (16.6– 19.3), 32.4 % (31.0–33.9), and 49.6 % (47.8–51.4), respectively. Greater household avail-ability of fruits and dark green vegetables and less availability of salty snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with more frequent family meals. Family meals wer