First it was all our fault when the kids were picky eaters. Now it is all our fault if they are overweight too! A new study (in rats I feel I must point out) has made this discovery:
In earlier studies, they showed that the offspring of these rats liked high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar foods better than other rats. But the new studies show that even when never fed junk food themselves, the rats whose mothers ate junk food during pregnancy grew up fatter than normal rats.
The whole study is interesting. Are we genetically predisposed to liking certain kinds of food? I love candy and other sweets, but salty sorts of junk foods do not appeal to me at all. My husband, on the other hand, does not like sweets much at all. He rarely if ever eats any of it. Something I just do no understand.
Interestingly enough, I have child who is just like him. This child prefers to snack on things like carrot sticks, apples, cheese and will often turn down offers of cookies or the like. I KNOW, who is this child?!?! I can assure you that I ate the same amount of junk food during all of my pregnancies.
When’s the fatness supposed to kick in? Mine’s almost four, and a skinny-mini despite both her parents’ fat-itude. Though she’s also blond and blue-eyed, unlike us, maybe they gave us the wrong baby!
Comment by Brigitte — July 10, 2008 @ 10:40 am
Apparently an inactive child who is eating high fatty food has nothing to do with it. The people who do these studies just annoy me. No one seems to want to take responsibility for their over weight kids. They keep finding studies to justify their childs weight.
Comment by ReAnnon — July 13, 2008 @ 11:13 am
I ate lots of junk food (taco bell mostly) when I was pregnant, but I also loved spinach … a food my son wont touch! If it works for the junk food shouldnt it work for the veggies too
(oh and he does not care for taco bell either).
Comment by tracy — July 15, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
I think this is just another example of how as parents we need to understand that balance is everything. We can’t eliminate our kids’ exposure to fatty foods altogether, and they will be sedentary some days. Now we see (and this is not the first study I have read about linking genetics to obesity) that our forefathers might have a hand in whether our kids gain weight at a faster rate than others. I am a health professional and guide kids through weight management programs. Often the best thing we can do for future generations is to educate parents (and the kids) on the importance of balance in their lives. To make good eating choices when they can, and to get involved in as many sports activities as you can. But I agree this information should not be used as an “excuse” to allow our kids to become inactive and unhealthy.
Comment by shanvt — July 19, 2008 @ 12:51 pm