Stressed mothers may raise fat children: study (Reuters)

Reuters - Millions of poor children in the United States may be getting fat before age 10 because their mothers are stressed out and the youngsters seek escape in unhealthy comfort food, researchers said on Tuesday.



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from the article.......
Children in stressed homes where there was plentiful food were more likely to be overweight or obese than those living in stressed situations where food was scarce, they added, because while both were reacting to stress, the former group had food available in which to find refuge.

i know of a lady who is a stay at home Mom who does not work, and she's a very stress-free person, however, she is feeding her kids food non-stop thru the day....... they have 'snacks' to eat between meals, and the snacks are put out within 15 min of dinner (or whatever meal) is finished........... all of her children are home-schooled because the kids at school tease them about their size (obese by medical standards)

i grew up with a girl who's mother was a stay at home mother as well........ one would assume a low stress level...... again, there was meals, followed by endless 'snacks' all day long and this girl was also obese by medical standards

i'm wondering WHY is it 'maternal stress' that they were looking for as the indicator???? why not fraternal stress???? and if they made the link between obese kids and accessibility of food, why did they attribute this to low income stressed out mothers???????

i believe this study is flawed

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kate

I think poor diet has more to do with low incomes rather than stress. If families have very little money they tend to buy food to "fill up" the kids rather than spending more (that they may not have) on healthier food. After all if it costs £3 to feed your family sausages and £10 to feed them fish then anyone short of money will buy the sausages.
As for the snacking some people equate food with love - a friend of mine is very overweight because her father liked to feed her and her sister as a way of expressing his love for them - I know it doesn't make sense but it's quite common.
As for targeting low income mothers in this study I think a more appropriate comparison would be to look at what effect education (especially science and nutrition subjects) has on diet.
Got to sign off - dinner is on the table - macaroni, ham and vegetable cheese (home made with wholemeal pasta of course)
Jane

gotta agree with you Jane!

then there is kidlet................ he will eat, oh 8 different items, and that's about it, so he lives on rice, macaroni, brocolli, cereal, sausages, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, the odd hamburger, and recently he tried potato (he's 14 !!!!!!!!!!!!)

he will NOT eat anything that has fat on it, OR has a bone attached to it anywhere

he drinks milk when we nag him, and then he puts strawberry syrup in it (gack)

oh, and pizza.......... he used to eat ham pizza and now that has changed to pepperoni pizza (no, we don't eat pizza very often, perhaps 4-5 times a year)

i told his pediatrician, hoping to get her to tell him that he MUST eat other things as well, she smiled and said, he eats from all 4 food groups................ sigh

and he's as skinny as a rail!

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kate

Kate he eats a vegetable! I talked to one father who's daughter refused to eat a pizza because he put herbs on it and she refuses to eat anything green!

A teenager's diet will never be what their parents want it to be. I suppose I'm lucky in that D and F (F is 6 going on 16!) both eat vegetables - OK D insists that they are raw and F has a pot of tomato ketchup to dip them in but they do eat them.

OK your kidlet's diet sound a little repetitive but I've seen far worse. You could try what we do - if D or F say they don't like a food they have to eat one spoonful and if they still don't like it they don't have to eat it - it is amazing how many things they decided they liked after all. (of course you then have to avoid sounding smug when they admit they like something)

Jane

LOL Jane

the rule has been 'you must have one bite of this food'

most foods that he tries he tells us he doesn't like them

i think it's a texture issue with him, AND an 'ease of chewing/swallowing whole'

sigh

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kate

Kate I think the texture thing is what puts D off cooked vegetables. Several years of school meals with overcooked vegetables put him right off.

I've noticed that occasionally, as D gets older, he will say he doesn't like things we've made him try but if we ask a couple of weeks later if he likes something 'cause we "can't remember" he often will say he likes it!

We find being sneaky can work with D

Jane

kewl, great tip Jane

thanks

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kate