Being a strict parent is making your kids obese
Thinkstock


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Studies that show unhealthy parents are more likely to have unhealthy children are nothing new, but new research reveals that parenting style effects children's health, too. A study from McGill University in Montreal found that the level of authority parents take with their offspring can also impact their weight.
Researchers used data gathered from 1994 to 2008 by the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, a Canadian survey that measures the BMIs of children ages 11 and under. They identified four key parenting styles: authoritative but responsive, authoritarian and unresponsive, permissive but responsive, and negligent. Children with authoritarian parents were at the greatest risk for obesity: These children were 30 percent more likely to be obese at 2 to 5 years old and 37 percent more likely to be obese at 6 to 11 years old than those with authoritative parents.
"These findings are consistent with what's been found for other dimensions of children's health — that an authoritative parenting style is the best one for children's health," study author Lisa Kakinami told Health.com. Authoritative parents set boundaries for their children but also give them positive praise and teach them the importance of self-control, which is instrumental in preventing obesity.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
-
Not a good idea
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Are private schools safe from Starmer?
Today's Big Question Schools would pay VAT under Labour government but party scraps plans to remove charitable status
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Sam Bankman-Fried: crypto on trial
Talking point The implosion of FTX may go down as one of the biggest financial frauds in American history
By The Week Staff Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published