The number of children with obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the last three decades. According to Goran (2017), more than 23 million children and teenagers (one in every six school aged children) is obese. Defined as having excess body fat, childhood obesity constitutes a major public health crisis both nationally and internationally. More importantly, children who are obese or overweight are at a higher risk of developing chronic health complications such as respiratory problems, high blood pressure, liver disease, and type 2 diabetes. With the country spending over $150 billion in the treatment of obesity related compilations, studies note that if the current trend is not halted, children growing today will have a shorter lifespan as compared to their parents (Ahima, 2014). Attributed to unhealthy eating habits, this study focuses on bad parenting and how it contributes to the rising obesity rates among children.
According to social learning theory, people learn behaviors through mimicking and observation (Goran, 2017). Eating behaviors are mostly learned from homes thereby making parents critical elements in modeling their children eating habits. For example, the availability of unhealthy foods in the house increases accessibility of fattening and sugary foods among children. In a study by Mihrshahi, Drayton, Bauman and Hardy (2017), a child’s home environment not only influences their eating habits but also physical activities and other sedentary behavior patterns. As such, lack of healthy eating behaviors among children has contributed to behaviors such as skipping breakfast, eating fast food regularly, and eating dinner in front of the television. Mihrshahi et al. (2017) further note that parenting practices such as rewarding of good behavior with sweets as well as unrestricted access to sweet beverages and snacks have led to increases in childhood obesity.
According to Ahima (2014) parental attitudes also play a critical role in the determination of a child’s weight status. In particular, the perceptions that the parents emit are noted to be effective in predicting how a child’s dietary and physical activities patterns will form. As such, parents who fail to recognize their children obesity as a health risk are noted to be less likely to acknowledge overweight as a problem. For example, parents who believe that heavier children are an indication of successful parenting and good health end up engaging in bad parenting habits that contribute to overweight in children. Ahima argues that the fear that the children are not eating enough among such parents lead to earlier introduction of solid foods before the recommended age as well as use of sugary foods to reinforce appropriate behaviors.
Whereas a majority of schools in the US continue to implement student fitness in schools, obesity awareness, and physical activities programs, children fail to observe these practices when they go back to their homes. Goran (2017) argues that children from high income families are more likely to be obese as compared to low income families. This is attributed to the children exposure to fast foods as well as lack of parental supervision. Goran further notes that, children from such homes may also find their playing spaces taken over by vehicles parking.
Parental influence is therefore, a critical factor in childhood obesity and weight gain. With parenting styles noted to influence a child’s dietary habits, physical activities, as well as sedentary behaviors such as time spent watching television, addressing this factor may help mitigate the rising obesity rates in the country.
References
Ahima, R. S. (2014). Childhood Obesity: Prevalence, Pathophysiology, and Management. Oakville, ON: Apple Academic Press.
Goran, M. I. (2017). Childhood Obesity: Causes, Consequences, and Intervention Approaches. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
Mihrshahi, S., Drayton, B. A., Bauman, A. E., & Hardy, L. L. (2017). Associations between childhood overweight, obesity, abdominal obesity and obesogenic behaviors and practices in Australian homes. BMC Public Health, 181-10. doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4595-y
