| Research
shows that kids adopt their parents' habits.
Over
200 studies have shown that if parents eat right and
get regular physical activity, so will their kids.
A
USDA study found that the amount of fruits and
vegetables consumed by children was directly related
to how much their parents consumed.
Parents
who pressure without modeling may actually discourage
good nutrition.
The
study also found that parents who ate fewer fruits and
vegetables tended to resort to pressure tactics to get
their kids to eat fruits and vegetables. Even with
that added pressure, their children consumed less. The
researchers suggested that parental pressure to eat
fruits and vegetables without parental modeling may
actually discourage children's fruit and vegetable
intake.
Parental
inactivity is a good predictor of child inactivity
A
study conducted by the University of Helsinki,
Finland, looked at physical activity patterns of 271
children and their families. Researchers found that
parental inactivity was a strong predictor of child
inactivity. The researchers noted that parents who
want to reduce their children's inactivity and play a
positive role in developing lifelong physical activity
habits might have to pay attention to their own
lifestyle first.
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