Meals at the family dinner table could be the key to preventing a generation of teenage girls from developing eating disorders.

New research shows girls who regularly have family meals are much less likely to adopt extreme weight control behaviors such as vomiting, using laxatives or diet pills.

A study surveying more than 2500 American high school students found that girls who ate five or more family meals a week had a much healthier relationships with food in later life.

The research, published in international journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, polled students aged 13 to 17 in 1999 who were followed up five years later. Regular family meals were found to have a protective effect regardless of the girls' age, weight, socio-economic status, dieting habits or relationship with her family.

Experts say doctors should encourage families to have dinner at the table instead of on the couch in front of the television to protect against serious eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

Belinda Dalton, director of eating disorders clinic The Oak House, said eating with family helped "normalise" young people's relationship with food.

"When adolescents are feeling that they're not coping they turn to something that they can control and food is something available and accessible for them to control. Clearly, if they're sitting with their family on a regular basis then their family can be more in control of their eating," Ms Dalton said.

"It's about young people feeling connected with their family and that builds self-esteem and sense of worth and that works very actively against someone developing an eating disorder."

An eating disorders expert, Kirsty Greenwood, said meal times were often difficult for sufferers. "It's typical that they feel very ashamed of their eating habits and often won't eat with other people. Perhaps it's because they haven't experienced the importance of the family meal in their growing up," she said.

与家人一起吃饭对于预防少女患上饮食紊乱症具有重要作用。

最新研究显示，经常与家人一起吃饭的女孩采用极端减肥法的可能性较小，比如：催吐、服用泻药或减肥药。

一项针对2500多名美国中学生的调查发现，每周与家人一起吃饭达到五次或五次以上的女孩日后的饮食习惯要健康得多。

该项在《儿科与青少年医学档案》国际期刊上发表的调查开始于1999年，调查对象为13岁至17岁的中学生，他们接受了为期五年的跟踪调查。调查发现，定期与家人一起吃饭具有“保护”作用，而这与女孩的年龄、体重、社会经济地位、饮食习惯以及与家人的关系都无关。

有关专家称，为了预防厌食和贪食等严重的饮食紊乱症，医生应鼓励人们都到餐桌上吃饭，而不要坐在电视机前吃。

“橡树屋”饮食紊乱诊所主任比琳达•达尔顿说，与家人一起吃饭有助于促进年轻人的饮食“正常化”。

她说：“当青少年遇到烦恼时，他们会去寻求一些他们能控制的东西，食物就是个很好的选择。显然，如果他们能定期与家人一起吃饭，他们的饮食会得到更好的控制。”

“这会让年轻人感到自己与家人紧密相连，有助于他们建立自尊和自我价值感，而这对预防饮食紊乱具有十分重要的作用。”

厌食紊乱专家克斯蒂•格林伍德说，吃饭时间对于饮食紊乱症患者来说总是很痛苦。“他们会为自己不正常的饮食习惯感到十分羞愧，而且很少与别人一起吃饭。这可能是因为他们在成长过程中没体会过与家人一起吃饭的重要性。”