This from my Providence Journal column in THRIVE Rita Watson: Working moms and child obesity, a perplexing issue
Obesity is a national problem that spawned an industry for weight loss books and inspired TV land’s “The Biggest Loser.” Today we are facing an epidemic of child obesity and a new study in “Child Development” appears to placing the blame for overweight children on working mothers.
Women were understandably angry and questioned: “Why are mothers always to blame?”
I talked with lead author Taryn W. Morrissey, Ph.D., assistant professor in public administration and policy at American University, and learned that their goal was to help working mothers rather than point a finger at them
The team used data from 990 school-age children between the ages of 8 through 12. Morrissey emphasized, “Our study is not a ‘guilt-inducing’ finding; maternal employment per se does not lead to increased child BMI [body mass index] — rather, the constraints working parents face while trying to negotiate work and family demands present the issue.”
She suggests that their findings “can be used to start a conversation about how society as a whole can better support working parents.” Two suggestions that might help curb child obesity include: more information on preparing quick and easy but healthy meals, and making available more affordable high-quality child-care programs that offer healthy foods and physical activities.
What about the role of fathers? Because there were relatively few stay-at-home dads in their dataset, they were unable to make comparisons between working dads and stay-at-home dads.
Basic factors identified as contributing to child obesity include: Eating too much junk food, spending too many hours in front of a television, and engaging in too little physical exercise.
However, with the number of children eating meals at schools — at which breakfasts and lunches are often criticized for their high fat and high salt content — this too might play a role in children’s’ weight.
Jean Daniel, director of public affairs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, avidly supports salad bars in schools. However, she tells me that “It is more than just the salad but rather knowing and understanding the relevance of food within one’s diet.” She added, “It is a balance, food and exercise,” further noting that “right now only one state still mandates physical education, Illinois.”
Last November a nationwide initiative called “Let’s Move! Salad Bars to Schools” launched which targeted school districts with free- or reduced-lunch programs. The schools also required grant or other supplemental funding to offer a daily salad selection.
With over 100,000 public schools nationwide, just between 500 and 600 schools are participating. For salad bars to become a part of every school’s lunch program it will take education, commitment, and a lot more “lettuce.”
Rita Watson is one of the Journal’s relationship columnists. She holds a degree in Public Health from Yale
Copyright 2011 Rita Watson/ All Rights Reserved