Eat meals with others (2024)

Eating meals with others is a part of healthy eating.

On this page

  • Benefits of eating with others
  • How to eat with others more often
  • More information for families
  • More information for seniors

Benefits of eating with others

Enjoying healthy foods with family, friends, neighbours or co-workers is a great way to connect and add enjoyment to your life. It can provide many benefits and contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

By eating with others you can:

  • enjoy quality time together
  • share food traditions across generations and cultures
  • explore new healthy foods that you might not normally try

Food is often a main part of celebrations and special events. However, eating with others doesn’t have to be saved for special events.

How to eat with others more often

Making time to enjoy meals with others doesn’t just happen. With busy schedules at work, school and home, making time to enjoy your meals with others can often get pushed aside.

The key to making it happen often starts with a plan. You could:

  • plan a breakfast date with friends
  • participate in community celebrations and feasts
  • start a regular community meal with your neighbours
  • have lunch with a co-worker at work or friend at school
  • ask your local community centre about groups you could join
  • plan a weekly dinner with extended family members or friends
  • eat dinner with:
    • roommates
    • a neighbour
    • family members
  • start a dinner party among your friends where everyone takes a turn hosting

When you eat with others, it’s important to remember to:

  • Take your time. Don’t feel the need to rush. Enjoy your food and the social aspect of being together.
  • Put away distractions like the TV or electronics. This can help you be mindful of your food choices.
  • Use it as a chance to connect. Talk to those around you and share what is going on in everyone’s life.

More information for families

Mealtime is a great opportunity to bring the family together. Eating together as a family benefits everyone. It can help the whole family:

  • share and connect with one another
  • take time to enjoy and relax over a meal
  • talk about events that occurred during their day

Kids especially can benefit from regular family meals as they are starting to develop their eating habits and behaviours. Eating together as a family can help kids:

  • explore new healthy foods
  • establish healthy eating routines
  • improve their overall eating pattern
  • explore cultural and traditional foods

As a parent or caregiver, you can be a positive role model. By practising healthy eating habits, you can help create a positive relationship with food and the foods kids will eat.

More information for seniors

Seniors often tend to eat alone. This can result in a sense of isolation and feelings of loneliness, especially at mealtimes.

These feelings, along with other changes you may experience as you age, can result in a loss of appetite. Eating less can impact your intake of important nutrients.

By eating with others more often, you can:

  • make mealtime more sociable
  • spend more time eating and enjoying a meal
  • increase the amount of food you eat, which can help you get more of the important nutrients you need for health

Having a meal with friends or neighbours or participating in a community meal program are great ways to eat with others.

Eat meals with others (2024)

FAQs

Why is it important to eat meals with others? ›

By eating with others more often, you can: make mealtime more sociable. spend more time eating and enjoying a meal. increase the amount of food you eat, which can help you get more of the important nutrients you need for health.

What does it mean to eat with others? ›

To dine alone means you are by yourself ,either at home or in a restaurant . To eat with someone means there are two or more of you eating together.

Does everyone around you get enough food to eat support your answer with two reasons? ›

No, everyone around us does not get enough food due to poverty (due to lack of income). Due to problems such as unemployment and overpopulation, there is less availability of food for many people. There are many people who do not properly utilise the food they have and waste them.

What is the key to make sure you eat with others more often? ›

Schedule Time to Eat Together

Choose the meal that gives you the most time to talk and connect. If you don't usually eat together, start by scheduling one meal per week and increase the number as you are able. Circle your friends and family around healthy foods as often as you can.

Is it better to eat with other people? ›

Eating together makes you feel good

Interacting and socialising are key parts of being human, whether that's talking, laughing, or simply spending time in each other's company. Having a meal with your family and friends is a great way to boost your mood. Want to feel better? Invite some mates over to eat.

Should we try and eat our meals with others? ›

If you cook and eat together you are more likely to have a healthy diet, to eat more fruit and veg, and to maintain a healthy weight. But beyond better nutrition, children learn so much by watching us, preparing, and enjoying healthy varied food, helping out, and being part of the team.

Why do people like to eat with others? ›

The research looked at the association between eating together and happiness, community connection, and life satisfaction. Responses from the survey showed a strong connection between social eating and social bonding, to the point that “communal eating may have been evolved as a mechanism for humans to do just that.

Why is sharing a meal important? ›

There are tons of benefits to sharing food or a meal with people. It builds trust among people sharing the same food. You can achieve decisions and consensus more quickly, you're more likely to respect each other, and it's easier to work together.

What are the benefits of eating together with family? ›

Benefits of Family Meals
  • Better family relationships. Mealtime provides an opportunity for the whole family to be together. ...
  • Everyone eats healthier meals. ...
  • Improved grades in school. ...
  • Less stress and tension at home.
Aug 25, 2020

What are the 3 main reasons why people need to eat? ›

Our body needs food to obtain energy, to get building blocks for our body, and to get substances that help control body processes. Food provides energy for activity, growth, and all functions of the body such as breathing, digesting food, and keeping warm.

Why do we eat more when we are eating with others? ›

When people eat together with other acquaintances or close friends, as in a family meal or eating with friends, they tend to eat more. This is called 'social facilitation' and is possibly traceable all the way back to basic human behavior, allowing people to survive better.

What are two solutions for having enough food for everyone? ›

Top 10 World Hunger Solutions
  • Sustainable Food. Heifer International is an organization that helps transform agriculture. ...
  • Access to Credit. Many organizations are helping people in poor countries to gain access to credit. ...
  • Food Donations. ...
  • Transitioning. ...
  • Urban Farming. ...
  • Access to Education. ...
  • Social Change. ...
  • Government Intervention.
Oct 2, 2016

How can we make sure everyone has enough to eat? ›

First Course: Reduce Growth In Demand for Food and Other Agricultural Products
  • Reduce food loss and waste. ...
  • Shift to healthier, more sustainable diets. ...
  • Avoid competition from bioenergy for food crops and land. ...
  • Achieve replacement-level fertility rates.
Dec 5, 2018

Does eating with others affect mental health? ›

Eating meals with other people has many psychological, social and biological benefits. They give us a sense of rhythm and regularity in our lives, a chance to reflect on the day and feel connected to others.

Can having meals together strengthen relationships? ›

A healthy lifestyle can also be good for your relationships. Couples who eat meals together and talk about the things going on in their life tend to be happier and more satisfied with their relationships. Sometimes work schedules and other activities interfere with shared mealtimes.

Why is it important to eat dinner with friends? ›

It makes us happier overall

Brings us closer together as a family, friends, or a community. And it gives us a better understanding of others—and ourselves. But if you're looking for the best reason why you should establish a routine plan for sharing meals together at the dining table, it's simple. It makes us happier.

Why is it nice to eat meals with other people rather than alone? ›

The research looked at the association between eating together and happiness, community connection, and life satisfaction. Responses from the survey showed a strong connection between social eating and social bonding, to the point that “communal eating may have been evolved as a mechanism for humans to do just that.”

What is the significance of sharing a meal with someone? ›

Sharing a meal together, whether it's a four course meal with co*cktails and wine or a simple plate of potstickers, cultivates connection and polishes our emotional and spiritual being that supports our mental and physical self.

What are the benefits of eating family meals together? ›

The Benefits of Sharing Family Meals
  • Better family relationships. Mealtime provides an opportunity for the whole family to be together. ...
  • Everyone eats healthier meals. ...
  • Improved grades in school. ...
  • Less stress and tension at home.
Aug 25, 2020

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