Stressed out parents have fatter kids. Here’s what to do

Stressed out parents raise fatter children, according to new research.

According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the number and severity of stressors in a parent’s life is directly correlated to issues of childhood obesity.

Top stressors for parents included:

1. Financial strain
2. Physical and mental health issues
3. Challenges of running a single­ parent household

Of the 2,119 parents interviewed, single ­parent homes had the strongest correlation to childhood obesity, while financial trouble led to much less physical activity.

The fast food connection…

The more stressors the parents felt they had, the more they were to buy fast food for their children. It was assumed this happens as a way for the parents to save both time and energy, since meal prep is never as quick as picking up something through drive thru (supposedly).

As for what is to be done about all this, researchers don’t exactly know.

It’s certainly tempting to tell parents to be less stressed, but that is easier said than done. When parents barely make ends meet, don’t get full nights of sleep and generally have more to do than they feel capable, stress just comes with the territory.

One possible solution for stressed out parents who have so much going on

Mindfulness.

A mindful approach may be the best solution for busy people. Why? Because with mindfulness, you make a distinction between what you are doing and how you are doing it.

Let’s say you have 20 things on your to do list. You’ve got to find a way to fit it all in. Working, doing household chores, shuttling kids around, dealing with family conflict and still pulling it all off is an accomplishment all by itself.

However, the state you’re in at any given moment will determine whether or not you enjoy it. If your focus is staying grounded in the present moment, you can still get everything done on your list. You’ll just do it with significantly less stress.

If you’re a busy, stressed out parent, learn and practice mindfulness. Luckily, mindfulness is one of the simplest and easiest self-help methods to grasp and implement. You just need a guide of some sort to show the way.

Here are some resources to get you started:

Jon Kabbat-Zinn’s classic book, Wherever You Go, There You Are is a great introduction to Mindfulness.

The iNLP Center Tame the DMN Course takes a practical approach that shows you how to turn of the ‘stress switch’ in your brain. This switch is known as the Default Mode Network (DMN) and has been extensively researched as the source of inner commotion. The DMN is your autopilot stress machine and can be turned off through specific kinds of awareness practices, outlined in the course.

Of course, learning mindfulness will spill down to your kids, which can only have positive consequences in their lives, right?

Source:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/e1096.short