Want a fat kid? Just keep working mom.

[CoolBreeze]

Here are some new common sense findings, the kind I talked about years go on my show. When mom isnt home to cook nutritious foods, the kids pay for it big time.....


(Health.com) — Over the past 35 years, the percentage of U.S. mothers who hold down a job while raising kids has soared, from less than 50% to more than 70%. The childhood obesity rate—which is now close to 17%—has more than tripled during the same time frame.

These overlapping trends may not be a coincidence. The longer a mother is employed, the more likely her children are to be overweight or obese, a new study of grade-schoolers published in the journal Child Development suggests.

For each additional five-month period his or her mother is employed, a child of average height can be expected to gain 1 extra pound over and above normal growth, the study estimates.

In addition, sixth graders with working mothers were found to be six times more likely than those with stay-at-home moms to be overweight.

Mothers who have jobs don’t directly cause weight problems in their children, but busy families may accelerate weight gain by relying too much on fast food and frozen dinners rather than preparing fresh, healthy meals, the researchers say.

Despite its limitations, the study adds to a growing body of scientific literature linking childhood weight gain to the amount of time a mother works. More research will be needed to fully explain this apparently strong yet enigmatic relationship, the researchers say.

http://news.health.com/2011/02/04/worki ... ight-kids/

When I was a kid, you got a candy bar or a Coke once or twice a week. Now, snacks and junk food are considered a standard part of the Food Pyramid.