New Mothers At Risk Of Obesity: Study

Summary of Article:

Mothers of young-children may be risking their health by drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages and eating more saturated fat compared with childless women.  The finding comes from researches at the University of Minnesota Medical School who examined the diets, physical activity and body mass index (BMI) of 838 women and 682 men.  The study was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.  The researchers suggested some explanations for the differences between female participants.  "Mothers may find it easier and less time-consuming to cook more palatable, yet high-fat food for children (e.g. macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets) and to eat more snack foods with children," they write.  "Mothers may also modify their milk consumption habits, including drinking the higher fat milk than their children drink."  The authors say there is little research into the diet and exercise patterns of parents of young children, but it is important to understand because healthy and unhealthy habits can become ingrained and transmitted to children.  Study participants completed a questionnaire about how often they consumed certain foods and how many hours they spent during various physical activities.  They were also asked to provide their height and weight in order for researchers to determine their BMI.  The results were average 2,360 calories a day, compared with 1,992 calories for women of the same age who did not have children.  The mothers also got 10.3 percent of their calories from saturated fat, compared with 9.5 percent for women without children.  The same studies were done with dads, however, it did not show any appreciable differences in the eating habits of fathers compared to men without children.  Most of the saturated fat we eat comes from meat, milk, butter, lard, coconut, palm and palm kernel oils.  Consuming too much of this kind of fat is a risk factor for obesity and cardiovascular disease.  When it came to physical activity, mothers reported an average of 2.36 hours of moderate to vigorous activity a week.  Women without children reported 3.19 hours of such activity.  "Young adults may continue these behaviours into adulthood, putting them at high risk for obesity.  In addition, the modelling of poor dietary intake and physical activity may influence children's health behaviour," the researchers write.


My Opinion of Article:

I believe all these facts make sense and are nowhere out of the ordinary.  It makes complete sense that women who are new mothers are at risk of obesity.  When you first have a kid, your life becomes more rushed and it takes time getting used to.  Most of the time, you won't have time to make a meal that takes a long time to cook and will have to resort to foods that are easier and faster to make such as macaroni and cheese, and ravioli.  Obviously, cooking a 10 minute meal such as macaroni and cheese would be more high in fat than cooking a meal that takes 45 minutes to make is healthier so it makes sense that new mothers would be at more risk of obesity.  However, it does kind of shock me that dads did not have a change as they would eat the same meal as the mother and the children.  This may be because when you get pregnant you gain weight and could be easier to eat fatty foods.  I also believe that it could influence a child's behaviour but if you fix your diet when your kid is well grown, it won't be a problem.