A study found that families who watched TV at dinner ate just about as healthfully as families who dined without it. The biggest factor wasn’t whether the TV was on or off, but whether the family was eating the meal together.

One study, published in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in 2004, found that even after controlling for family connectedness, kids who had seven or more family meals a week were far less likely to smoke, drink alcohol or use marijuana than those who had just one or none.

[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/health/16well.html?ex=1350532800&en=de9906bd6570e189&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss “Read the Story”) (The New York Times)