Mothers, taking time out of your busy day to spend more time with your children and not letting the office get to you will go a long way toward keeping them from getting obese.

However, kids who spend more time with their dads pick up more weight, largely because fathers aren't as strict as moms with what healthy foods their sons and daughters eat, Texas researchers say.

"You're not at work 24 hours a day," says Dr. Alex McIntosh, a sociologist at Texas A&M University and lead researcher for a five-year study on the matter. "For mothers: For the time you do have, spend some with your kids. For fathers: Dads are not toxic, but we may need to teach fathers about nutrition."

Part of a trend? 

The researchers may have stumbled upon at least one cause of what health experts call America's growing "obesity epidemic" among children.

Within the past 20 years, the percentage of children suffering from obesity has doubled. Now, nearly 30 percent of American kids are overweight, and about 15 percent of them are obese, according to federal health statistics.

In that time, researchers from throughout the country have chalked up higher obesity rates to sugary soft drinks and snacks, too much television and video games, and too little physical activity.

Now, Texas A&M researchers in College Station came up with a new angle by rounding up 300 Houston families to determine what influences parents have on their children's nutrition and weight.

Job, income pressures

In the study for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, researchers say that generally, parents today are working too hard, too strapped for cash and putting up with too much job stress to ensure their children are engaging in healthy eating.

The researchers found:

•  The impact of parental time on youngsters' weights was greater for children 9 to 11 than for 13- to 15-year-olds.

•  Children 9 to 11 who spent more time with their parents consumed less total fat and saturated fat.

•  Children of mothers who managed their work stress consumed less total fat than children of mothers who stressed out over their jobs.

•  Mothers spent about 125 minutes a day with their children 9-12, while fathers spent 80 minutes a day.

•  By contrast, the older group of youngsters saw their fathers 95 minutes a day, compared to 87 minutes with their mothers.

Researchers say they don't want people to think the results show fathers shouldn't be directly involved with their children's upbringing. Fathers still must learn good nutritional habits so they can pass them off to their children, says Dr. Karen Kubena, a nutritionist and one of the researchers.

"The use of nutrition for choosing foods in the supermarket and restaurant is especially important," Kubena says. "Above all, the impact of poor food choices on future health is a concept that men need to know, accept and use for themselves today and particularly for their children's tomorrows."

To view a copy of  "Parental Time, Role Strain and Children's Fat Intake and Obesity-Related Outcomes," click here.

Source: Texas A&M University

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