Diet and exercise play a strong role in your child’s fitness, but so too does life at home, according to new research published in Preventative Medicine.
“It’s not just what you eat and exercise,” when it comes to fitness, said Dr. Daphne Hernandez, co-author of the study. “It’s really important to think about what is going on in the family, and how it can affect adolescent weight gain.”
Hernandez said three specific home-based factors can significantly affect a child’s nutritional well-being. Those three factors are:
- Family conflict or separation
- Financial stress
- Risky maternal behavior
To determine how these factors influenced adolescent health patterns, researchers analyzed 4,762 children born between 1975 and 1991. The four factors they measured under the family conflict or separation category were: change of parents’ marriage status, having a parent sent to prison, being a victim of a violent crime and having a close family member pass away. The factors researchers examined under the financial stress category were: family poverty level and parent employment status. For maternal risky behavior, researchers examined: maternal binge drinking, drug use and depressive symptoms. Children had their BMI measured at age 18 or 19, and then researchers cross-examined the stress factors and BMI findings.
Family Stress Study
After looking at the data, researchers uncovered:
- Female children were more likely to be overweight or obese for each additional family disruption factor from birth until the age of 15 than children without such factors.
- Similar results were seen when children experienced increased financial stresses.
- Risky maternal behavior didn’t increase weight problems in adolescent girls, but for boys, it was the only factor that significantly increased the risk of becoming overweight.
“Behaviorally and physiologically, females and males respond different to stress and to adverse events,” said Hernandez. “This repeated exposure to stress in the family unit is resulting in a physiological change,” which can lead to problematic behavioral changes.
Although they didn’t specific exactly why these stresses could increase BMI in children, Hernandez suggested that “emotional eating” could play a significant role.
Dr. Silverman comments
Dr. John Gottman did similar research on how the ratio of positive to negative events in a person’s life affected their health. His magic ratio of 5:1 positive to negative events in family life will likely be predictive of stress related obesity.
If you have less than five positive to one negative event, the stress is high in that relationship and compensation or coping will take place. There is a reason why its called “comfort food.”
Related source: MedPage Today, Preventative Medicine
