Busy Parents, Fat Children

American children are eating excess amounts of processed foods that contribute to the Nation’s snowballing childhood obesity epidemic. Busy lifestyles of both mothers and fathers are a big part of the blame.

Research shows that America’s full-time employed mothers spend about 3.5 fewer hours a day considering matters of their children’s exercise and nutritional requirements than their stay-at-home peers. American fathers are even less involved. Dads with full-time jobs average only about 13 daily minutes of consideration to these concerns. Even unemployed fathers devote only 41 minutes, according to an Economics of Human Biology study.

Parents feed their kids nutritionally questionable items when they also frequently buy items at the fast-food drive-thru or purchase prepackaged and frozen meals that are generally less nutritious than fresh, whole foods.

“It’s inaccurate to pin rising childhood obesity rates on women, given that husbands pick up so little of the slack,” cautions lead study author John Cawley, professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell’s College of Human Ecology. “For example, mothers who choose to work might be those who enjoy cooking less and who would cook less whether working or not.”

Cawley says the findings underscore the reasons why American schools should offer nutritious lunches and rigorous physical education programs.