NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who are able to communicate with their mothers and fathers about serious issues and whose parents monitor their activities closely are more likely to have healthy eating habits than teens with more distant parental relationships, according to recent study findings.

``Parents can have a positive influence on dietary intake,'' study author Dr. Elizabeth M. Young of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, told Reuters Health. ''Involvement of parents in their children's lives appears to be related to eating a healthy breakfast and lunch as well as fruit and vegetable intake,'' she said. Young conducted the research while at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Her findings, based on survey responses from over 3,000 Georgia high school students, were published in a recent issue of the Journal of School Health.

Overall, about 37% of the female students and 43% of the males said they regularly ate a healthy breakfast, while nearly 60% of females and 70% of males said they ate a healthy lunch, Young and co-author Dr. Stuart W. Fors of the University of Georgia report.

The students most likely to report that they regularly ate a healthy breakfast and lunch were those who had the highest level of communication with their parents and experienced the highest level of parental monitoring, meaning their parents were involved with their school life, generally knew their whereabouts and set clear rules.

Furthermore, almost 80% of the students who reported experiencing the highest level of parental monitoring ate fruits and vegetables at least once a day, in comparison to 51% of those who reported the lowest level of parental monitoring. Fruit and vegetable intake was also greater among the youth who reported higher levels of family communication.

Healthy eating was also associated with the students' parental living situation, and was most common among individuals who lived with both parents. Forty-three percent of students who lived with both parents said they ate a healthy breakfast, in comparison to 32% of those who lived with only one parent, 24% of those who lived with other family members and 12% of those who lived with a foster family.

In general, ``the use of parenting practices that are supportive and provide clear expectations for behavior may result in healthier eating by enabling children to develop self-control skills,'' Young said. ``Parent modeling may also play a role in dietary behavior.''

In other findings, students were more likely to eat a healthy breakfast if they spent less than 2 hours per day at home without an adult, while they were more likely to eat a healthy lunch if they spent fewer than 5 unsupervised hours at home. Students who spent 5 or more hours at home without an adult were also less likely to report eating fruits and vegetables at least once per day.

``Parents should communicate with their children and be conscious that their involvement in their children's lives is important,'' Young said. ``They should know where their children are and what they are doing.''

SOURCE: Journal of School Health 2001;71:483-488.

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