Childhood obesity is one of the problems of the 21st century whose solution seems not to be close, seeing that children are increasingly sedentary, play more with screens and less with wheels and balls and have an unbalanced diet.
We know all these factors, however there are other variables that enter the equation that must be taken into account because it seems that the solution to obesity will come with work on all of them. I speak, for example, of the relationship of children with their parents, since it is believed that authoritarian parents may be favoring their children's obesity.
What is an authoritarian father?
To know what I mean we should define what an authoritarian father is. As a general rule, just look back and define the type of father one or two generations ago. Rigid parents with the norms, not very affectionate and unwilling to talk about the norms or the limits, which must be followed "because yes", "because I say so and do not talk any more" and they have a style in which threats abound And the punishments.
Study Data
Canadian scientists analyzed a group of more than 37,000 children and saw that obesity rates were one third highest in children up to 11 years old when their parents wore an authoritative educational style. The children of more assertive parents, who were more affectionate, more willing to talk openly about the rules and limits and to negotiate with the children, were generally thinner.
The study has not been published yet and was presented last Wednesday in San Francisco, at the American Heart Association (American Heart Association) meeting and although the data suggest the relationship between parenting style and children's weight, the causal relationship is not proven.
In Canada, childhood obesity has tripled in the last 30 years and scientists wanted to see if the family environment could influence it. They found that children aged 2 to 5 with authoritarian parents were 30% more likely to be obese and that children aged 6 to 11 were 37% more likely than the rest.
In the words of Lisa Kakinami, author of the study:
These findings are consistent with what has been discovered regarding other dimensions of children's health, namely that an assertive parenting style is best for their child's health ... Parents who have that style also have less chances of having children who carry out risky behaviors.
As I say, in the study they have not been able to know if one thing is the cause of the other and that is why these results cannot be considered conclusive, unless they are demonstrated in future investigations.
In any case, I think that there could be a relationship, since as many of us know the food can be used as a calm element, as an exhaust valve, as an element that calms the nerves that restrictive parents cause in a child's stomach, or in his mind. A few months ago we commented that abused girls could have a higher risk of obesity for the same reason.
