The fathers are more and more involved in the education of children, but little research has examined the association with childhood obesity. According to results of a study published in the medical journal Obesity, the increased participation of fathers in the education of children is linked to a decrease in the risk ofobesity from the age of 2 and 4 years.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University (United States) used medical and societal data from a nationwide survey of children in the United States.
They conducted their study with 3,700 children born in 2001 whom they followed until their 6th birthday. They particularly analyzed the evolution of the weight of children between 2 and 4 years old.
A father present would prevent obesity
Scientists assessed fathers’ education participation by measuring how often they bathed with their children, dressed them, went for walks and played with them. Of the 3,900 fathers surveyed, almost half said they take their children to play or walk outside several times a week, and more than 20% do so once a day.
The results of this study suggest that encouraging fathers to increase their participation in child rearing would help reduce the risk of obesity in young children. Indeed, the involvement of fathers reduced this risk by 30%.
“There is a growing body of evidence on the importance of involving fathers in raising children in areas other than child development,” says Dr. Michelle Wong, lead author of the study. “Our study suggests that there may be benefits for the health of children and for reducing the risk ofobesity “.
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