February 13, 2006
We are Family: I Got All My Bad Habits With Me
Does a dinner from the local greasy spoon or from the town farmer’s market sound more appealing to you? Did you know that your family could have great influence in this decision?
Families cherish generational traditions and common ties. Heritage, after all, is something to be celebrated—from hair and eye color to endearing mannerisms to timeless stories. Recent studies, however, have found that there is one behavior that when passed down can be detrimental to your health: poor eating habits and lifestyle.
According to researchers at Arizona State University, children raised in family households fostering unhealthy eating habits and inactive lifestyles are 33 percent more likely to become overweight as young adults.
Parental relationships with food and nourishment hold high stakes for the future health of their children.
There are several reasons for this:
- Parents are the “gatekeepers” for the nutritious value of household meals/snacks.
- Parents decide whether they are going to be permissive or authoritarian with regard to regulating their children’s diet.
- Children follow the lead of their parents when it comes to when, where, and what they eat.
- Adolescents tend to mimic the emotional relationships their parents have with food—eating in response to anxiety, anger, sadness, or happiness.
- Children with an obese parent are three times as likely to be obese when they reach adulthood, and children with two obese parents are ten times as likely.
As if environmental factors weren’t bad enough on their own, some science has even shown that genetics can be slightly to blame for eating behaviors. University of Maryland scientists studying Old Order Amish families have linked genetics to patterns of restrained eating and overeating in adults.
Eating habits, however, have a greater impact on the risk for becoming overweight than the “fat gene,” and there are ways to surpass weight challenges and eating behaviors, whether learned or genetically inherited.
- Realize that you can change your environment and the foods that surround you.
- Don’t skip breakfast; it is the most important meal of the day for weight control.
- Don’t eat in front of the television, in the car, at your desk, or anywhere that keeps you from realizing when you are full/over-eating.
There are some family habits that you should hold in high esteem. But there are some cycles that need breaking and rebuilding—your diet and overall health could be one of them.
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