Mom's Career Could Lead To Overweight Kids

Many moms who choose or need to go back to work after having kids feel guilty enough about not being home during the day, however a new finding on childhood obesity could make them feel even worse.

According to a new study in the January/February issue of Child Development, the more years mothers worked over their children’s lifetimes, the more their children’s body mass index (BMI) rose.

Researchers at American University

, Cornell University, and the University of Chicago used longitudinal information from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to look at 900 children in third, fifth, and sixth grades, living in 10 cities across the country.

They found the total number of years mothers were employed had a small but cumulative influence on their children's BMI.

Small but consistent weight gain can, over time, lead to an increase in the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese.

The findings were strongest among children in 5th and 6th grades.

Surprisingly, changes in children's physical activity, time spent unsupervised, and time spent watching TV didn't explain the link between maternal employment and children's BMI. Moreover, the time of day moms worked wasn't significantly associated with children's BMI.

The study authors said the reasons for these findings are not entirely clear.

They think one possibility could be that working parents have limited time for grocery shopping and food preparation. This may contribute to a greater reliance on going out to eat or eating prepared foods, which tend to be high in fat and calories.

Given that more than 70 percent of U.S. mothers with young children work, the researchers said the importance of providing support to these families is clear.

"About a fifth of American children are considered obese, and childhood obesity has been associated with health, behavior, and academic problems in adolescence and adulthood," according to Taryn W. Morrissey, assistant professor in public administration and policy at American University, who led the study.

Based on their findings, the researchers call for efforts to expand the availability of affordable, readily accessible, healthy foods and to support and educate working parents about strategies for providing nutritious meals despite busy schedules.

"Community- and school-based programs offer promise for promoting healthy weight by providing information to children and their families about nutrition and exercise, as well as how to make quick, healthy meals," said Morrissey.