One in eight South Korean adolescents eats with their parents fewer than four times a week, a study has found. Each additional weekly meal shared with parents was linked to a 12% lower likelihood of severe stress, a 9% lower rate of depression and an 8% lower rate of high anxiety.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the study — "Longitudinal Association Between Parental Meal Frequency in Early Adolescence and Mental Health in Late Adolescence," by Kang Ju-hyun, Kim Baek and Kim Seong-ho — drew on data from the Korean Adolescent Health Panel Study (2019–2023). It found that 12.9% of adolescents ate with their parents fewer than four times a week.
The study followed 3,986 people who took part in the survey every year over the five years from 2019 to 2023. The researchers measured how often the participants ate with their parents in early adolescence (2019–2020, sixth grade to first-year middle school), then analyzed whether this was related to stress and depression once they reached late adolescence (2021–2023, second-year middle school to first-year high school).
Of the 3,986 final participants, 12.9% ate with their parents fewer than four times a week. This group included a higher proportion of high-income and dual-income households than those who ate together four or more times a week. They also reported higher overall rates of severe stress across six areas — schoolwork, family, friends, finances, appearance and the future — while family harmony was relatively lower.
Why shared meals matter
The frequency of meals shared with parents in early adolescence was also found to be linked to later mental health. Each additional weekly meal with parents tended to lower severe stress by 12%, depression by 9% and high anxiety by 8%.
The researchers said the findings "suggest the possibility that meals shared with parents can be a daily environmental factor supporting adolescent mental health," adding that the results "could serve as baseline data for education, counseling and community programs aimed at improving adolescent mental health in the future."
The Korean Adolescent Health Panel Study is a KDCA project that tracks the same group of people every year for 10 years, starting in the sixth grade, to identify changes in their health behaviors and their contributing factors. A panel of 5,051 sixth graders as of 2019 will be followed through 2028.
Other findings show that meals and communication between adolescents and their families have declined over the years. According to raw data from the Korean Adolescent Health Panel Study (2019–2023) released by the KDCA last October, the share of adolescents eating with their parents every day plunged from 66.3% in the sixth grade to 27.4% in the first year of high school, while the share who said they "often" have health-related conversations with family fell from 58.4% to 39.5% over the same period.
