If mothers and fathers often work long, your children are at a higher risk to be in the pre-school age overweight or obese. A recent study by the science centre Berlin for social research, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health shows.
The current study shows that children of mothers who work 35 hours or more per week, are more likely to be overweight – compared to children whose mothers are not employed. The risk is increased if the fathers work long hours (55 hours or more per week). In this case, even the shorter working hours of the mother have a negative effect on the body weight of the children. This shows that the working hours of fathers has a significant impact on the health of children. The study is one of the few studies of the effect of maternal and paternal work hours be considered jointly.
The negative impact of long working hours on body weight was found mainly in children from families with middle-and high-income. In the case of low-income families, this correlation can not prove. "Parents with low income are perhaps less informed, what is the impact of nutrition and exercise on the risk of Obesity in their children. Therefore, the work does not change, fewer or more hours at two factors may viel", study author Jiang Hong Li thought. Visiting a daycare reduces the risk for Overweight or obesity, however, regardless of the social Background of the children.
The researchers analyzed the study data for Body Mass Index (BMI) of children and the working hours of their parents. Data from 2.413 children were evaluated between the ages of 0 and 6 years old, which were acquired between 2003 and 2014 in German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP).
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