Creating Healthy Family Norms to Prevent Obesity

How do we create healthy family norms so that obesity doesn’t become your family normal?

Every day, children are bombarded with messages and ideas that promote a negative body image. Parents however, have the power to shape and construct family norms around food, eating and weight-related ideals. Their perceptions, values and actions around health will impact greatly on their children and family. This is why it is important to establish solid healthy family norms early on, so that it doesn’t become ‘normal’ to be overweight and have negative attitudes toward food, weight and body.

Let’s first look at some of the causes of weight gain and obesity:

1.     Eating too much for your lifestyle or activity level (calorie in > calorie out)

2.     Eating foods that are low in nutrients and high in ‘anti-nutrients’ such as preservatives, processed sugars, trans fats etc.

3.     Poor eating habits (e.g. emotional eating, skipping breakfast, eating with distractions)

4.     Indulgent or excessive eating behaviour (e.g. binge eating)

5.     Inactivity, leading to muscle wastage

6.     Disease (e.g. mental illness, malnutrition and other conditions)

7.     Genetics

8.     Low socioeconomic status

9.     Medications

You may now be wondering why carrying around extra weight can be dangerous…after all, sometimes the media likes to portray overweight/obesity as being okay, healthy or normal, which is certainly not the case in a majority of circumstances.

The associated risks of overweight/obesity include:

1.     Coronary heart disease: due to a build up of plaque inside the coronary arteries. Heart disease can cause a heart attack which can cause death.

2.     High blood pressure: high blood pressure increases your risk of blood clots, heart failure, metabolic syndrome and aneurysms.

3.     Stroke: Being overweight can cause a build up of plaque in the arteries. If this plaque decides to burst, it can cause a blood clot which can travel up into the brain and cause a stroke.

4.     Sleep apnoea

5.     Type 2 Diabetes

6.     Cancer

The risks associated with obesity can go on and on. The important thing to remember is that most of these risks can cause severe and dangerous complications that can impair quality of life. It’s also important to realise that a majority of the risk factors for obesity are modifiable, which means it’s up to YOU whether you hold that risk or not.

For example, you can change how much food you eat and what types of foods you are eating. You can also work on creating more positive eating habits and attitudes toward food, especially if you are a parent as you hold the responsibility of building a positive environment around food for your children. Many studies have highlighted the direct impact of parent’s attitudes on children’s own attitudes, food choices and food intake (1). For this reason it’s important to establish some healthy family norms.

For example:

·      Have healthy food always accessible in the house like fresh fruit in a fruit bowl on the counter, vegetables like carrots and celery chopped up and stored in the fridge on an eye view shelf, and visible healthy snacks and food in the pantry.

·      Try and cook at home more often and experiment with different cuisines and flavours, you can get your children involved.

·      Eat together as a family (for more on this check out our blog post ‘The Importance of Eating Together as a Family’).

·      Model positive attitudes toward food and body image.  Be aware of the language you use when talking about yourself and others in your family, especially within earshot.  Watch how your attitudes towards certain foods affect your children’s attitude.

Most importantly, know that there is always hope. You have the power to be who you want to be. Picture it and go for it. It won’t be easy but it will be worth it! And if you’re a parent, always remember how much influence and power you have. You have the opportunity to give your children a shot for a great and healthy future.

 

References:

Savage, J., Fisher, J., & Birch, L. (2007). Parental influence on eating behaviour. J law Med Ethics, 35(1).