Family Culture Linked to Childhood Obesity

Family routines may lower risk of obesity in children.
The Los Angeles Times (2/8, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reported that, according to a study published Feb. 8 in the journal Pediatrics, children in families who eat together, have limited "weekday TV viewing time," and adhere to "a regular sleep schedule" appear to "have a 40% lower prevalence of obesity." The study showed that "each of the three routines was a factor in lowering the risk of obesity regardless of the child's other risks for obesity, such as obesity in the parents."
HealthDay (2/8, Gordon) reported that researchers from the College of Public Health at Ohio State University "included a nationally representative sample of 8,550 four-year-old children" in their study. "One parent of each child answered researchers' questions about the family's routines and behaviors."
WebMD (2/8, Hendrick) reports, "Obesity prevalence was only 14.3% in households practicing all three defined healthful routines," the researchers found, whereas "obesity prevalence was 24.5% for children in households not practicing any of the three routines." For study purposes, the investigators "defined the three healthy routines as eating the evening meal as a family more than five times per week, getting at least 10.5 hours of sleep nightly, and watching less than two hours of TV on weekdays."