Child obesity link to parents
placeholding invisible text
That's goodtoknow...
1 in 4 children is overweight by the age of 5 and 1 in 3 by the age of 11.
- Send us your tips
placeholding invisible text
Children become obese because they imitate the lifestyle of their same-sex parent, according to new research.
Why is childhood obesity in the news?
There is a strong likelihood that overweight mums will have obese daughters and the same applies to dads and their sons.
Research carried out on 226 families discovered that obese mums were 10 times more likely to have obese daughters.
Obese dads were 6 times more likely to have obese sons, but the same trend did not exist between mothers and sons and fathers and their daughters.
Why is this obesity research so important?
Previously, childhood obesity was thought to be more affected by genetics than behaviour.
This study shows that girls are likely to copy how their mum's lifestyle, and similarly boys will imitate what their dad does.
Is childhood obesity really that bad?
Yes. Around 4.5 million children are either obese or overweight and the numbers are going up.
Rising childhood obesity is also being linked to the increase in cases of type 2 diabetes. Around 85% of children with type 2 diabetes are either obese or overweight.
More help and advice
- Child obesity: What can you do?
- Get the facts on childhood obesity
- Is childhood obesity getting out of control?
- Get fit with the family
- 10 ways to get your kids to eat their greens
- Could your child have type 2 diabetes?
By Rob Mansfield
Average rating:
