As parents, we often tell our children to “do as I say, not as I do.”  We don’t want them to make our mistakes.  This is often true when it comes to health and weight issues as well.

A new study on the incidence of obesity in families suggests that we need to change our current approach to preventing obesity in the next generation of adults.  A great deal of our focus has been on teaching children about health and nutrition in the hope that this will lead to healthy weight adults, but it appears that this may not be the best tactic.

Researchers have found that the likelihood of a child becoming overweight is greatly influenced by the same-sex parent.  That is, daughters are more likely to become obese if their mother is obese, and sons are more likely to become obese if their father is obese.  The same correlation was not found between sons and obese mothers, or daughters and overweight fathers.

The researchers concluded that it was “highly unlikely” that genetics were to blame as the results did not cross gender lines and that it was more probable that “behavioral sympathy” was the cause.  This means that a daughter tends to mimic the lifestyle of her mother, and a son tends to copy the lifestyle of his father.

Obesity is a complex issue, and finding an answer to this health crisis depends on more than just one approach.  What the study concluded, however, is worth noting.  Parents have a huge influence on their children and play an important role in the future health of their children.

If you are a parent struggling with obesity, then perhaps you are fighting for your child’s health as well as for your own health.  This is an awesome, overwhelming, and scary realization!

Via: BBC News