The fat doesn’t fall far from the tree

Tom Spears

Ottawa Citizen

July 12, 2004

From the Department of the Obvious comes a Stanford University study on obesity: Kids are more likely to be overweight if their parents are, too.

Oh?

No, really, that’s it. The entire conclusion from the fancy Stanford University School of Medicine. Their announcement contains this zinger:

"The findings of this study suggest that at-risk children may be identifiable in the first few years of life."

And this one, based on the observation that children with highly sensitive natures tend toward overweight:

"It is likely that parents with emotional children feed them to reduce the frequency of tantrums instead of using non-food methods. It’s probably not a good idea to use food as a calmer."

Oh, again.

We have to ask how often the Stanford doctors go to a fast-food restaurant, or a grocery store - or, come to think of it, any place where families are seen buying food or eating together. There’s got to be a connection between the parents’ weight and the kids’, when they all eat the same way.

Dark Matter suspected so all along. Of course, Dark Matter didn’t get research money from the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

© Ottawa Citizen 2004

 

 

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