As if you didn't already need another excuse to quit that pesky nine to five. Now, a new study suggests Moms working full time may have a link to childhood obesity.
The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, followed more than 8,500 UK adults who were born in 1958. Researchers found that the children of these adults were 50 percent more likely to be overweight or obese than their parents were at the same age.
And when researchers looked at factors as to why this might be the case, Mom's job came into play. They speculated that children of working parents were given fewer home-cooked meals and had less healthy diets, in general.
While this makes sense in theory--less time at home equals less time in the kitchen--I'm sure there are other major factors coming into play here. Like how about how portion sizes have grown in the last fifty years? Or the fact that TV advertising now pushes high fat, sugary junk food on kids from an early age? And what about school lunches? I watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and saw all those kids eating pizza for breakfast.
Oh, and don't forget lifestyle. These days, kids are logging in way more hours in front of the TV and computer--whether Mom's home or not. We're also driving our kids a lot more. How many kids walk or ride bikes to school?
That said -- researchers suggest there does appear to be some sort of link. Children of mothers who worked full-time were 48 percent more likely to be overweight or obese than children of non-working mothers. Even with socioeconomic factors, parents' weight, and breastfeeding taken into consideration.
Unfortunately, since the study did not look at actual diets and exercise patterns of these kids versus those whose moms stayed at home, we don't have a complete picture of the problem.
We expect a lot of debate on this one! Do you think your job is interfering with your kids' nutritional needs? What do you think of the potential link?
$20 off the royal peek
