Gathering around the table: Negotiating family mealtime patterns among Latino families

• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Author: Elizabeth Villegas,Sarai Coba‐Rodriguez,Angela Wiley
• Date: 01 February 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12681

RESEARCH

Gathering around the table: Negotiating family

mealtime patterns among Latino families

Elizabeth Villegas

1

|Sarai Coba-Rodriguez

2

|Angela Wiley

3

1

Department of Education and Child

Development, NORC at the University of

Chicago, Chicago, IL

2

Department of Educational Psychology, The

University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

3

Department of Human Development and

Family Studies, Auburn University,

Auburn, AL

Correspondence

Sarai Coba-Rodriguez, Department of

Educational Psychology, The University of

Illinois at Chicago, 1040 W. Harrison Street,

M/C 147, Chicago, IL, USA.

Email: scobaro2@uic.edu

Funding information

This study was funded by The Food and

Family Grant funded under the Family

Resiliency Center at the University of Illinois

to Dr. Angela Wiley.

Abstract

Objective: With increasing obesity prevalence among

Latino families, it is imperative to understand mealtime

dynamics and how to support families in healthier meal-

time routines.

Background: Family mealtimes are an important context

for negotiating and making decisions about what and how

much to eat and learning dietary behaviors. Yet little

research exists on how Latino parents make those

decisions.

Methods: Addressing current gaps in the literature, we

conducted three focus groups with 19 low-income Latina

mothers of children who ranged from elementary to high

school age. We explored mothers’family mealtime experi-

ences in their home country and in the United States, bar-

riers to shared mealtimes, and knowledge of appropriate

portion sizes.

Results: Several key findings emerged: (a) Latina mothers

recollect sharing family mealtimes more in their home coun-

tries than in the United States, (b) work schedules make it

difficult to engage in family mealtimes, (c) uncertainty about

correct portion sizes and child influence lead mothers to give

in to their children’spreferences.

Conclusion and Implications: These findings add to the

substantive discussion concerning changes in family

mealtimes across borders, continued barriers that fami-

lies encounter to shared mealtimes, and how knowledge

Author note: The authors acknowledge members of the Abriendo Caminos Research Lab team in the Department of Human

Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who contributed to the research project. We also

gratefully acknowledge our participants who made this study possible.All procedures performe d in studies involving human participants

were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki

declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent was obtained from allindividual participants

included in the study.

Received: 17 February 2021Revised: 28 September 2021Accepted: 4 February 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12681

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits

use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or

adaptations are made.

© 2022 The Authors. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:253–270. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 253

of portion sizes influences mother’s beliefs and food

choices, ultimately impacting the type of foods children

consume.

KEYWORDS

dietary behaviors, family routines, Latino families, shared mealtimes,

qualitative research

Increased frequency of shared mealtimes is associated with positive health outcomes, such

as reduced risk for eating disorders, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables,

lower calorie intake for dense foods, and lower risk for childhood obesity (Fiese

et al., 2012; Lange et al., 2018). In particular, sharing threeormoremealsperweek

reduced the odds of being overweight by 12% (Fiese et al., 2012). High prevalence of

obesity can contribute to several health risk factors, including hypertension, glucose

intolerance, lower quality of life, and social isolation (Soltero et al., 2021). Family meal-

time routines are a context in which families eat food, engage in social interactions, and

demonstrate cultural norms while making decisions about dietary behaviors such as what

and how much to eat (Bates et al., 2018; Fiese et al., 2012;Harrisetal.,2020). Further-

more, shared mealtimes are more than just the meal itself. There are elements of plan-

ning, predictability, emotional regulation, communication, and organization for shared

mealtimes that all influence the quality and the experience of healthy engagement with

other family members (Fiese et al., 2012;Harrisetal.,2020). Increased family connec-

tion through consistent healthy mealtimes can lead to several positive health outcomes

due to the growing acceptance of family rules, role-modeling, and the development of

healthful attitudes and behaviors (Welsh et al., 2011).

Children play a significant role in the quality and frequency of mealtime routines.

They often influence what is purchased, their parents’ability to plan, and the ease of the

actual mealtime event (Bova, 2021;Elderetal.,2010). Children make requests and push

their parents to purchase and make foods they prefer (Stott, 2015). Specifically, Latina

mothers often feel guilty for denying their children snacks and treats that they were not

able to enjoy as a child (Stott, 2015; Villegas et al., 2018). Effective health promotion

among Latino families requires a better understanding of how Latino immigrant families

come together and negotiate processes of meal planning, purchasing and cooking food,

and executing the mealtime routine. This is especially important for Latino communities

because Latino individuals often suffer from the greatest obesity rates in the

United States, with 45% of Latino adults and 25% of Latino children with obesity

according to 2018 data (Office of Minority Health, 2018).

Cultural aspects of Latino families’mealtime experiences may contribute challenges that

hinder optimal health choices (Villegas et al., 2018). For example, Latino immigrant chil-

dren may adapt to the dominant culture faster than their parents because of greater expo-

sure to social influences in their peer groups, social media, and exposure to new foods or

norms at school. It is typical for the younger generation to adopt “Americanized foods”

because children communicate with a more diverse group of cultures at school (Dondero &

Van Hook, 2016). These new preferences may influence their parents’dietary intake and

healthy behaviors because children can act as “cultural food brokers”(Soto et al., 2017). In

the context of family mealtimes, mothers report fighting with their children and even their

husbands about their food preferences, often to prioritize health. However, when prefer-

ences diverge due to cultural differences, it can be frustrating and difficult for mothers to

maintain traditional healthy habits (Lora et al., 2017). This is a particular concern for

mothers because they often play a fundamental role in executing mealtime routines and

254 FAMILY RELATIONS