Factors that Influence Childhood Obesity
The cause of pediatric obesity is multifactorial (1). There is not a single cause, nor solution, found that leads to all cases of pediatric obesity. Parental discipline in regard to the child is not proven to lead to less adiposity or obesity in children. Parental feeding strategy may actually be a cause of obesity with restrictive approach to food by the parent shown to increase the proclivity for the restricted foods (2). Likewise, when parents allowed their children to have more say in the foods they (the children) ate, there were mixed results with both positive and negative outcomes (2). Family dynamics may be a more important contributor to pediatric obesity. Though initially the obesity may stem from a different issue, the obesity can be worsened by a family dynamic that is not conducive to the wellbeing of the child. It was demonstrated that obese children are often part of families with weak marital bonds overprotective mothers and weak fathers, and families with poor cohesion (3). Parental obesity is also highly predictive of child obesity (3), and the obese parents can instill habits in children through their (the parents’) lifestyles.Factors that Influence Childhood Obesity
Parental lifestyle may play a more important role than the actual discipline the parent instills on food. In a systematic review, it was found that parental screen time and physical activity could influence how a child behaved in a similar way (4). Along the same line, paternal and combined work schedules that were considered nonstandard (work schedules that included weekends, overnights, and/or hours worked outside of 0900 to 1800) were found to attribute to pediatric obesity (5). Specifically, when either both parents or the paternal figure worked nontraditional work schedules, the child was more likely to be obese. Parents ultimately have a large amount of influence on the child, but there are other factors that lead to obesity in children.
