BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Children who regularly have meals with their families tend to enjoy better health and have a considerably lower risk of obesity, an article in Monday's issue of Pediatrics said.

The article said researchers have examined the findings of 17 studies on child nutrition and eating patterns involving over 182,000 kids, including teenagers.

The results show children and adolescents who share at least three family meals per week are more likely to be a healthy weight and less likely to have disordered eating than those who shared mealtimes less frequently.

The children are also 20 percent less likely to eat junk food, 35 percent less likely to have eating problems like skipping meals or bingeing, and 24 percent more likely to eat vegetables and other healthy food.

Child obesity has become a more and more serious health problem around the world, and the researchers encourage parents to share meals with their children more frequently.

"It's important for parents to know what they can do, especially with obesity and eating habits," said study lead author Amber Hammons, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.