
A Fathers health reflects on their child
Fathers can have a dramatic influence on the health of their young children. Some of a child’s knowledge and attitude towards food and exercise is learned unconsciously, by watching and imitating their dad. It may be because Dad’s are seen as the head of the family, or possibly because fathers have a stronger influence over the types of foods a family eats. This strong level of influence has led to a growing level of awareness of the importance of targeting parents as a strategy to improve dietary and physical activity behaviours in their children.
The research
A recent study examined the long-term effects on child weight status from having one overweight parent, and also examined whether these effects varied depending on the gender of the overweight parent. Over 3,000 families were assessed for height and weight, and then re-assessed four years later. The researchers found even if the mother was at a healthy weight, having an overweight father significantly increased the odds of their child becoming overweight. An overweight father increased the risk of having an overweight child by 418%, but if the father was very overweight, the risk increased to 1488 per cent. However, a healthy weight father with an overweight mother was not a significant predictor of childhood weight problems. The researchers noted that the role fathers play in childhood health is particularly important in countries like Australia where substantially more men are overweight than women.
Practical tips for dads
Children with overweight fathers are at a higher risk of becoming overweight themselves, suggesting fathers have a key influence in shaping the family environment that leads to the development of child weight problems. Following are some practical ways that fathers can foster a positive attitude towards health and weight in their children.
References available upon request.