To erase a sorrow, an annoyance of your child with a good meal is a reflex to be avoided. According to a study published in the journal Pediatric Obesity, when parents console their child with their favorite dish, it has repercussions on his relationship to food in adulthood. It encourages emotional eating and possibly a factor in obesity.
Researchers come to affirm that this habit is not genetic, contrary to what could be affirmed until then but is transmitted from parents to their children. The study looked at the eating behaviors of 398 British monozygotic and dizygotic twins aged 4. They were part of a large-scale study of twins, the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS).
Replace food with an activity in managing emotions
Half of the children came from families where the parents were obese, putting them at a higher risk of obesity. For the other half, the parents had a normal Body Mass Index (BMI). Parents answered questions from scientists about their children’s eating habits. They had to validate or not certain statements: “my child eats more when he is irritated”, “my child eats more when he is sad”.
Result little difference between the different pairs of twins, whether they are monozygous or dizygotic. The researchers deduced that the environment had more impact than genes on the relationship to food. Eating in response to negative emotions is a risk factor for the development of obesity as well as the development of eating disorders.
Researchers therefore advise parents to replace food with an activity, a sport, a hobby in the management of emotions.
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