The Thin End

A new study says that children are less likely to be obese if mothers stick to a healthy lifestyle, but is it right to target mothers alone? The study says little to nothing about the role of fathers. The findings do highlight potential benefits of parent based strategies to curb childhood obesity. Healthy maternal lifestyle lowers risk Children of mothers who follow a healthy lifestyle have a substantially lower risk of developing obesity than children of mothers who don’t make healthy lifestyle choices, finds a study published in The BMJ. Is this yet another statement of the blindingly obvious, or does it give insight into obesity prevention? The findings show that risk was lowest among children whose mothers maintained a healthy weight, exercised regularly, did not smoke, ate a healthy diet, and were light to moderate drinkers. The researchers suggest that if both mothers and their children stuck to a healthy lifestyle this could result in an even further reduction in...