Facts on Fatherhood - Day Ten

Father Factor in Childhood Obesity:

• National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that obese children are more likely to live in father-absent homes than are non-obese children.Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
• Study that looked at family lifestyle and parent’s Body Mass Index (BMI) over a nine year period found:- Father’s Body Mass Index (BMI) predicts son’s and daughter’s BMI independent of offspring’s alcohol intake, smoking, physical fitness, and father’s education- Furthermore, BMI in sons and daughters consistently higher when fathers were overweight or obese- Physical fitness of daughters negatively related to their father’s obesity- Obesity of fathers associated with a four-fold increase in the risk of obesity of sons and daughters at age 18Source: Burke V, Beilin LJ, Dunbar D. “Family lifestyle and parental body mass index as predictors of body mass index in Australian children: a longitudinal study.” Department of Medicine, Royal Perth Hospital, University of Western Australia, and the Western Australian Heart Research Institute; Perth, Australia.
• A fathers’ body mass index (a measurement of the relative composition of fat and muscle mass in the human body) is directly related to a child’s activity level. In a study of 259 toddlers, more active children were more likely to have a father with a lower BMI than less active children.Source: Finn, Kevin, Neil Johannsen, and Bonny Specker. “Factors associated with physical activity in preschool children.” The Journal of Pediatrics 140 (January 2002): 81-85.
• Study that looked at dietary intake and physical activity of parents and their daughters over a two year period found:- Daughter’s BMI predicted by father’s diets and father’s enjoyment of physical activity- As father’s BMI rose, so did their daughter’s BMISource: Davison KK, Birch LL. “Child and parent characteristics as predictors of change in girls' body mass index.” Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
• Study that looked at the relationship between parent’s total and percentage body fat and daughter’s total body fat over a two and one-half year period found:- Father’s, not mother’s, total and percentage body fat the best predictor of changes in daughter’s total and percentage body fat.Source: Figueroa-Colon R, Arani RB, Goran MI, Weinsier RL. “Paternal body fat is a longitudinal predictor of changes in body fat in premenarcheal girls.” Department of Pediatrics, General Clinical Research Center, Medical Statistics Unit, Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA.
• Two studies that have looked at the determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children found:- Obese children less likely to report that their father’s were physically active than were the children of non-obese children. This determinant not found for mothers.- Father’s inactivity strong predictor of children’s inactivity.Source: Trost SG, Kerr LM, Ward DS, Pate RR. “Physical activity and determinants of physical activity in obese and non-obese children. School of Human Movement Studies, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.Source: Fogelholm M, Nuutinen O, Pasanen M, Myohanen E, Saatela T. “Parent-child relationship of physical activity patterns and obesity.” University of Helsinki, Lahti Research and Training Centre, Finland.
• Children who lived with single mothers were significantly more likely to become obese by a 6-year follow-up, as were black children, children with nonworking parents, children with nonprofessional parents, and children whose mothers did not complete high school.Source: Strauss RS, Knight J. “Influence of the home environment on the development of obesity in children.” Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA.

Today pray for the health of the children that you know. Pray for their phyiscal, mental, and spiritual health. If you are a dad pray that you can model a healthy lifestyle to your children.