Permissive Fathers Have Heavier Kids

Note from Connie: Dads, please pay attention. If you let you let your kids get away with whatever they want, it could affect their weight. SUGAR SHOCK! Blog researcher Karen James brings you the news about this surprising obesity trigger.

Fathers’ parenting styles have a major influence on children’s weight, according to an Australian study we learned about from Healthday News.

Disengaged and permissive fathers were more likely to have overweight or obese children than fathers with a consistent parenting style, according to researchers from the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (That’s Murdoch as in Dame Elisabeth, Rupert’s mother).

The researchers presented their findings at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting held in Toronto in May. (The abstract of the study is password protected.)

The researchers found no association between mothers’ parenting styles and children’s weight in their study of nearly 5,000 4 to 5-year-olds and their parents.

Karen James for the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog