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Health News Feature
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Good intentions may get not-so-good results in childhood eating habits (HealthDay News) – "Eat all your food. There are children starving in…." How many times have you heard your mother or father use those words? How many times have you used them yourself to make sure that Johnny or Jenny eats everything on his/her plate? Unfortunately, the received message may have an entirely different meaning. Research says there could be a link between how parents approach weight issues and the feeding of their children -- and the young generation's waistline A team led by Donna Spruijt-Metz, an assistant professor of research at the Keck School of Medicine's Department of Preventive Medicine at USC, looked at the relationship between mothers' child-feeding practices and children's fat mass. The researchers studied 46 black and 74 white boys and girls, all about 11 years old. .This study provided insight into the growing obesity problems among children in America , Each mother filled out a questionnaire about her child-feeding practices, which looked at whether they pressured their children to eat, such as telling a child to "eat everything on their plate." The questionnaire also measured each mother's concern over her child's weight, including fears that the child is or will become overweight and have to go on a diet. At the same time, each child's body fat mass was measured used a technique called dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The data available for this study was special because it provided DXA information and also looked at both boys and girls, while most research on nutrition and feeding practices have focused on girls. "The whole onus of body image issues and overweight is thrown onto this relationship between mom and the girl," says Spruijt-Metz. Spruijt-Metz was surprised that socioeconomic status appeared to have no effect on either pressuring a child to eat or concern over a child's weight. "Philosophically, you might say that if you don't have [wealth or food], you want your child to clean the plate once you do have it," she says. To Spruijt-Metz, it suggests that child-feeding practices can be modified across all socioeconomic groups, perhaps making it possible to "stem this incredible tide of childhood obesity." But the best way to change feeding behavior to reduce the risk of obesity is still not clear, says Spruijt-Metz. Public service announcements might change awareness of the issue, but they're unlikely to change behavior, says Spruijt-Metz, although some theories suggest that awareness must change before behavior can be modified. "Different cultural groups require different interventions tailored to match the food that they're feeding their kids or to match their particular style," says Spruijt-Metz. "What this research might be saying is that we can go in an educate parents about how they approach feeding their child and what they feed their child, without also pointing the finger at the parents and saying, 'You have to change, too.'" Brian Saelens, a clinical psychologist and a ssociate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Seattle 's Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center , works with children who are already overweight. Saelens says that his approach is to help parents provide a healthful eating environment, and that a moderate approach is best. "You can't be too extreme, in terms of being so over-controlling that the kids have no choice," says Saelens. "You can't also be neglectful to the point where parents are unaware of what they're eating." He says that one of the main problems in the fight against childhood obesity is the unprecedented access to high-fat, high-calorie foods in the last two decades. He says that portion sizes in out-of-home food have increased substantially, and that American families are spending more of their food budget eating out. On the Web Find out more about obesity in children from the Office of the Surgeon General. SOURCES:
Interviews with Donna Spruijt-Metz, Ph.D., assistant professor of research, Keck School of Medicine's Department of Preventive Medicine. University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Brian E. Saelens, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Seattle's Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle ; March 2002 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
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