According to a new study, better educated parents are more successful in keeping their children away from food that causes obesity by giving them a proper diet.
Parents play an important role in a child's diet and eating habits. A new study shows that better educated parents are more successful in keeping their children away from food that causes obesity by giving them a proper diet. Children of parents that have a low or medium level of education tend to eat lesser vegetables and fruits and more food that causes obesity.
The study was conducted by an international group of experts from eight European countries. For the study, these experts analyzed the relation between parents' levels of education and the frequency with which their children ate food that causes obesity and overweight issues. This included studying the data of 14,426 children aged between two and nine from eight European countries including Italy, Belgium, Estonia, Sweden, Hungary, Cyprus, Germany and Spain.
"The greatest differences among families with different levels of education are observed in the consumption of fruit, vegetables and sweet drinks," explains Juan Miguel Fernández Alvira, the author of the work and researcher from the University of Zaragoza to SINC.
According to the authors of the study, this finding means that children with parents belonging to less advantaged socio-cultural groups were at a higher risk of developing overweight and obesity. Fernández Alvira says that campaigns and programs that are held to prevent childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating habits should target these less advantaged social and economic groups to be more effective.
The authors also added that the growing period for children is from two to fourteen years. This is when the need for energy and nutrition also increases. Hence, their diet should include cereals, vegetables, fruit, dairy products, fish, lean meats, poultry, nuts and eggs.
The results of the study were published in the journal, Public Health Nutrition.
