Strict parents 'risk obese children'

All parents have different views on how they should raise their children, with some preferring to shower them with affection and others being a little stricter and setting out rules for their offspring to follow.

Lisa Kakinami, who has recently led a study regarding parenting methods and their subsequent effects on the weight of young people, said "parents should at least be aware of their parenting style", as she believes those who are stricter could make their children more likely to be obese.

To come to this conclusion, Ms Kakinami and a team at Montreal's McGill University analysed data relating to 37,577 Canadian children aged from birth up to 11 years old.

Children from a range of backgrounds were selected for the study, so a comparison could be drawn between those given healthy boundaries by their parents and young people who had little affectionate interaction with their mothers and fathers. 

Parents were required to answer a series of questions about how they preferred to raise their offspring, before their child's body mass index was calculated.

Results showed that those who had stricter parents who laid out rules, didn't show much affection or talk to their children, were 30 per cent more likely to become obese between the ages of two and five, with this risk increasing to 37 per cent when they were aged six to 11.

Factors such as social background were also taken into account as doctors thought poorer families may be more likely to have overweight children, but results revealed that income did not have as much of an effect as different parenting styles did on a child's weight.

Ms Kakinami added: "If you're treating your child with a balance of affection and limits - these are the kids who are least likely to be obese."

Doctors are now hoping to carry out further research into the matter to investigate how changes to home life could alter the weight of children.ADNFCR-554-ID-801705106-ADNFCR

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