A new study has shown that kids who sit down and eat regular family meals and get plenty of vegetables in their diet tend to be in better shape than their peers who lack those eating habits.

The new study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, may not sound like a new idea. However, not a lot of studies have looked at the relationship between kids and the relationship between their weight and eating habits, which are far more complex than just sugar and fat consumption.

While it is generally thought that sitting down with their family to dinner is healthy for children, there is little research as to how doing so helps gets stay or get thin.

In the new study, Greek researchers studied 1,138 kids from the ages of 9 to 13. They looked at their diets, physical activity, and then used that information to identify five general diet-and-lifestyle patterns withing the group.

One was called the "dinner, cooked meals and vegetables" pattern. Children with this lifestyle had a higher intake of vegetables, regularly sat down to family dinner and had more traditional “cooked” meals (hot or cold) for lunch and dinner, rather than sandwiches, snack foods, or breakfast-like meals.

Kids in this pattern typically had a lower BMI. They also had slimmer waistlines and less body fat than their peers who did not fit the diet pattern.

The other four diet-and-lifestyle patterns that were identified were associated with children's weight or body fat levels.

The others included am “unstructured eating, fast food/sugary foods and sedentary lifestyle" pattern, and "high fiber," "breakfast," and "exercise, fruits and vegetables” patterns.

It is not clear why these other categories failed to show al ink to kids' weight, while the family meal/vegetable pattern did, according to researchers, headed up by Dr. Mary Yannakoulia of Harokopio University in Athens.

They write, however, that the habit of sitting down with families to dinner and having cooked meals on a regular basis could signify kids who are sticking to the traditional mediterranean diet, which is rich in vegetables, olive oil, whole grains and fish.

A major limitation of the study is that it only looked at the kids at one point in time. Only a study that lasts over time can show whether those who have a family meal/vegetable-type pattern are less likely to be overweight.

Yannakoulia nd her colleagues, however, write that the findings suggest that an eating pattern stands as a "potential preventive approach" to facing childhood obesity. They noted, also, that a "non-restrictive" pattern is a way of eating most children can live with.