Family influences weight

Family influences weight

Children with obese parents have the greatest risk of being overweight, says a Stanford University School of Medicine study in the July issue of Pediatrics.

The study of 150 children from birth to age 5 found 64 percent of the children with obese parents became overweight, compared with 16 percent of children with normal-weight parents.

" The findings of this study suggest that at-risk children may be identifiable in the first few years of life," Dr. W. Stewart Agras, professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, said in a prepared statement.

Identifying risk factors that result in early childhood obesity may help researchers to develop ways to prevent it.

The study also found a child's temperament played a role: 46 percent of children with a sensitive disposition and an overweight parent became overweight, compared with 19 percent of children who didn't have a sensitive disposition. The sensitive disposition/ overweight connection was also evident in children with normal-weight parents.

It's possible that parents with emotional children use food to reduce the frequency of tantrums, Agras said.

"It's probably not a good idea to use food as a calmer. If we can identify kids with difficult temperaments, we could educate parents not to use food as a reward," Agras said.

Low parental concern about their child's thinness and less sleep for children were also significant risk factors for overweight children, the study found."