Are you an only child or daughter? Pay attention to your waistline! According to a study published in early November in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, only children would have less healthy eating habits than children who grew up in siblings …
Researchers at the University of Oklahoma (USA) assembled a group of 68 mothers (with children aged 5 to 7) of whom 27 had only one child. For 3 days (2 weekdays, 1 weekend day), the mothers carefully noted the composition of the meals taken with the family before submitting the data to the researchers …
Unique children, different eating habits
Results? First, mothers of single children were more likely than other mothers to be obese. Deuzio, only children had less healthy eating habits than children growing up with siblings: they were more likely to dine in front of the TV (which increases calorie intake, and therefore the risk of being overweight) and consumed more drinks. sugar (which can contribute to the development of diabetes and obesity).
How to explain this difference? If the researchers are not sure, they underline a possible positive influence of the brothers and sisters, as well as a different family organization in the event of siblings, especially numerous!
In France, 1 in 6 adults is obese (ie 17% of the population). This chronic disease affects 3.9% of children: but 16% of boys and 18% of girls are overweight … (source: Weekly epidemiological bulletin, June 2017).
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