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| CREDIT: Daycare photo via Shutterstock |
Being in day care may take its toll on children's waistlines, a new
study suggests. Children who attended day care between ages 1 and 4 were 65
percent more likely to be overweight or obese between ages 4 and 10, compared
with those who were in their parents' care before age 4, the study showed. "Consideration
of nutrition and physical activity in child care arrangements may be worthwhile for developing child
care programs and policies that would be better adapted to children’s
needs," the researchers wrote in their study, published online Nov. 8 in
the Journal of Pediatrics.
Children who were in the care of a family member other than their
parents were also more likely to be overweight or obese, but the link was not
as strong, the researchers found. The researchers at the University of Montreal
gathered data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development on 1,600
children born in 1997 and 1998, and tracked them over 10 years. Among the
children in the study, 30 percent of the children were in day care, and 19 percent were cared for by their parents. Other
children were in the care of nannies, other nonrelatives, or family members
other than their parents.
The link between being in day care and being overweight or obese held
when the researchers took into account factors such as the mothers' employment
status, the parents' income level, breast-feeding and body mass index of the
mother, according to the study. The results are in line with those of previous
studies, the researchers said. One study of 16,000 U.S. children found that
kids cared for by a relative, friend or neighbor in the year before
kindergarten were 30 percent more likely to be obese in kindergarten than children cared for by their parents.
It's not exactly clear why kids in day care may be at higher risk of
being overweight or obese, but future studies should investigate this, the
researchers said. "I suggest to parents they ensure their children eat well and get enough physical activity, whether at home or at day
care," study researcher Jean Séguin, of the University of Montreal, said
in a statement. The researchers said that day care policies have the potential
to reduce weight problems in children, possibly through the promotion of physical activity
and healthy eating.
Source: My Health News
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