- Parents with rigid rules who fail to talk to their children or show affection have a greater chance of their offspring being obese
- Risk rises by a third for younger children, and those up to 11 years old
- Authoritarian parents had a 37 per cent higher chance of their older children aged 6 to 11 years being obese
16:10 EST, 19 March 2014
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05:08 EST, 21 March 2014
They found parents that are rigid with rules, fail to talk to their children or show affection have a greater chance of their offspring being obese
Strict middle class parents are more likely to have children who pile on the pounds than those who are firm but fair, claim researchers.
They found parents that are rigid with rules, fail to talk to their children or show affection have a greater chance of their offspring being obese.
The risk rises by around a third for younger children, and those up to 11 years old.
Researcher Lisa Kakinami, from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, said the spiralling obesity epidemic affecting most countries meant attention should be paid to the way parents and children interact at home.
She said: ‘Parents should at least be aware of their parenting style.
‘If you’re treating your child with a balance of affection and limits – these are the kids who are least likely to be obese.’ according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014.
Researchers from universities in Montreal followed a group of 37,577 Canadian children aged 0 to 11 after comparing parents’ answers to a survey on how they brought up their children.
They then classified parenting styles and analysed them in conjunction with their children’s body mass index (BMI), the scoring system that relates weight to height and determines obesity.
They classified parents who were generally affectionate, had reasonable discussions about behaviour with their child and set healthy boundaries as authoritative.
Parents who were strict about limits without much dialogue or affection were deemed authoritarian.
The authoritarian group had a 30 per cent higher chance of their younger children aged 2 to 5 years old being obese compared with the authoritative group.
Authoritarian parents had a 37 per cent higher chance of their older children aged 6 to 11 years being obese.
They found parents that are rigid with rules, fail to talk to their children or show affection have a greater chance of their offspring being obese
Researchers also found that poverty was associated with childhood obesity.
But parenting style affected obesity regardless of income level.
Younger children living in middle class homes with authoritarian parents were particularly likely to be more at greater risk of obesity, along with those having ‘negligent’ parents who did not pay their children much attention.
The research was presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014.
Latest figures for England show almost a third of 10-11 year olds and over a fifth of 4-5 year olds were overweight or obese.
Around three-quarters of obese children are likely to remain that way as adults, putting them at risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Tam Fry, Honorary Chairman of the Child Growth Foundation, said ‘dictatorial’ methods were bound to backfire.
He said ‘I can see a pattern whereby children are being told what foods they should, and should not, eat by middle class parents who are anxious about obesity and overdo it.
‘But there comes a point when children rebel and they make up their own minds about what to eat, and it’s likely they won’t want to eat what their parents tell them to.
‘Children are voting with their stomachs.
‘Children should be encouraged to eat healthy foods from a young age, but education and encouragement must be used as opposed to a dictatorial approach.’
Dr David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum, said ‘These finding are remarkable. It just goes to show it is not just genes that affect obesity, but the environment we grow up in.
‘Although at first these findings look surprising, the lesson here is that it is key to allow children to be part of the decision making process when it comes to food.’
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Comments (71)
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The comments below have been moderated in advance.
Just Dona,
Metropolis, United Kingdom,
20 hours ago
More nonsense from people who think that if you say something often enough it will magically become true.
Olivia Aaron,
Santa Cruz, United States,
20 hours ago
Eye Roll
MrBen,
Frankfurt, Germany,
20 hours ago
Surely, it’s the other-way-round?
Strict parents are more like to worry about what their children put in their mouths, as apposed to lazy parents who just let their children do what they like.
My rubbish journalism from the DM!
nixy,
up north,
20 hours ago
My parents were strict when it came to food, after all they had worked damn hard to put food on my plate and by god I was going to eat every last bit. If I refused then that food would reappear for the next meal and the next (depending on how stubborn or hungry I was) till it was gone. I became very overweight. This behaviour was instilled into me throughout my chilhood and regretfully i did the same to my own children, who consequently became overweight too. I suddenly realised that it was the wrong thing to do and began allowing them to choose what they wanted and it was ok to leave some if they were full. I reduced the portion sizes which benefited us all and stopped the amount of waste. We are no longer overweight as a result of this.
Question,
SouthEast,
21 hours ago
Despite the copious amounts of corporal punishment I got when growing up from my parents and primary school headmaster, this research would suggest I did not get enough!
bellekirk,
Sheffield, United Kingdom,
21 hours ago
I don’t know how children and parents decades before us coped with all this brilliant research.
*face palm*
Evie,
Vancouver,
21 hours ago
In the past parents were much more strict, take the 1950s and further back to the 1800s and there were no fat people in those days. Another theory blown to hell.
PhilJ,
Cardiff,
21 hours ago
I don’t want my children to get slim because they run away from me.
Chatsboy100,
Plymouth,
21 hours ago
Complete and utter BUNKUM….
steve,
manchester,
21 hours ago
Thanks DM, i had no idea that all strict parents were exactly the same.
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