Stressed Out Moms Find Comfort in Food…and so Do Her Kids

I’m typically not one who pins one’s situation on the attitudes or circumstances of others.

For instance, if I’m in a bad mood, I really can’t say that my mood was affected by my friend’s negative mood, even though the refrain of “You put me in a bad mood,” is a fairly common one and is often accepted as legitimate.

Here’s the fact: No one puts you in a bad mood; you decide on your own whether or not to be in a bad mood, regardless of someone else’s.

But as with just about all rules, there are exceptions. One such exception is the role parents have in the emotional and physical formation of their young children. No, not in the mood they have from day to day, but their weight. And according to a new study, the level of stress that their mother’s emote affects their children’s eating habits.

Published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from two state universities – Iowa State (Go Cyclones!) and Michigan State (Go Spartans!) – looked at lots of health data, including dietary choices, of approximately 850 children from families living below the poverty line between 1999 and 2003 (the data was part of a nutritional survey conducted by the government). They found that those children whose families were living below the poverty line – but nonetheless had plenty of food available in the home– were more overweight than those children whose families were in similar financial straits, but with less food readily available. What’s more, the overweight children tended to go toward more “comfort” foods, or foods that tend to be high in carbohydrates and low in fiber.

Based on this finding, the researchers made some conclusions. One of them was that mothers living below the poverty line are understandably in stressful situations due to the financial straits they’re experiencing. As such, they often seek out comfort and reassurance by overeating. Their children take note of this, and act out on their mother’s reaction to stress in similar fashion: by overeating (as anyone with children knows, young children are like emotional barometers for the family).

It’s important to note that the children considered in the study were those under the age of 10; the diets of older children were not considered as they have outlets to escape family stresses (e.g. friends, driving, school activities) and tend to drift from parents’ influence as they grow older. Younger children often have no such outlet, thus are doubly influenced by the way in which their parents deal with stress.

Now, it might sound strange that people living below the poverty line are becoming obese. In reality, however, women less well off are approximately 50 percent more likely to be obese than those women living more comfortably (according to a survey conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services). Because “comfort” foods like pasta and pastries are relatively cheap compared to the higher priced organic foods and vegetables, these are the most cost effective foods to buy for their families. So part of the problem is not necessarily with underprivileged families’ food choices, but that better food choices are cost-prohibitive. Unfortunately, the only way that will change is through greater supply to accommodate demand (or a change in how much one can purchase with food stamps).

This doesn’t completely exempt parents of obese children from blame, however. We all take comfort in food to deal with stresses now and then, but that can’t become a routine thing. To deal with family stresses, one needs to find alternative ways to deal with them. Exercising is probably the best way I can think of.

The choices parents make in how they deal with stress has a direct impact on their children. I wrote about this not too long ago (see “Relax – Study Finds Stress-Filled Parents Affects Children’s Health”). This study is just the latest example.

Again, while I don’t like to ascribe one person’s actions or circumstances to the behavior of others, I make exceptions to this rule.

This is one such exception.