Yes, family dinners can encourage good nutrition and reinforce a sense of healthy time structure for daily living.

However, the most important aspect of the family dinner, in terms of eating disorder prevention, is love.

Reliable, trustworthy family gatherings where everyone talks and listens, where adults and children expect and respect the presence of each other, where arguments and laughter and serious discussion mingle in an atmosphere of reliable loving presence - that is key to eating disorder prevention.

A sturdy soul with a sturdy sense of self and a certaintly that she is lovable
and loving cannot co-exist with an eating disorder.

Joanna Poppink, MFT, Los Angeles psychotherapist specializing in eating disorder treatment.