Lax parenting leads to fat kids: survey

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-11  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

PARENTS' general approach to raising their children is often apparent in how they manage their kids' diets - suggesting that efforts to control childhood obesity need to consider family dynamics, according to American researchers.

In a study of 239 parents of first-grade children, researchers found that parents who were strict in general also tended to have an "authoritarian" approach to their children's eating - banning certain foods, for instance, or using pressure to get them to eat fruits and vegetables.

Similarly, parents who were generally "permissive" in what they let their children eat tended to have similar parenting styles.

In between these two groups, the researchers found, were "authoritative" parents.

These parents set limits on their children's diets, but often used more positive approaches - like following a healthy diet themselves - to get their kids to eat well.

The findings showed that parents' general styles are important in their children's diets, according to Dr Laura Hubbs-Tait and colleagues at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

They also suggested that efforts to help obese children lose weight were "not likely to be successful" unless the underlying family dynamics were addressed, the researchers reported in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

In general, experts recommend that parents use positive approaches to get their children to eat right - by setting a good example with their own diets, for example.

A lack of attention to family dynamics may help explain why child obesity treatment is often less than successful, according to Hubbs-Tait and her colleagues.