59% of families report eating dinner together at least five times a week

[KellyMarie]

an increase from only 47% in 1998, according to the Importance of Family Dinner IV, a report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

Here's the article:
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20339151,00.html


I thought that it's kind of cool that families are eating together...of course it's probably because the economy stinks and nobody can afford to go out LOL

[Delissa]

That's good news! The benefits of families eating together are so much bigger than one would think:


The Columbia University study found that teens who only eat dinner with their families twice a week or less are:

* 3 times as likely to try marijuana
* 2.5 times more likely to smoke cigarettes
* 1.5 times as likely to try alcohol

… compared to teens who eat five or more family dinners a week.

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/05/03/the_5_benefits_--_and_a_few_risks_--_of_eating_together_at_the_dinner_table.htm