New Study: Stressed Parents More Likely to Have Obese Children

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Stress has long been a risk factor associated with obesity in adults, and now a new study from researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York found that stressed Latino adults were more likely to have children with obesity as well.

The data from the Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth) showed a relationship between child weight status in the Latino population and parental stress.

“Obesity and chronic stress were both prevalent among this Latino population, with more than one-quarter (28%) of children ages 8-16 with obesity, and nearly one-third (29%) of their parents reporting high levels of stress,” said Dr. Isasi in a report from News Medical.

The study looked at Latinos living in the Bronx, Chicago, Miami and San Diego areas, and followed guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine child weight status, and parental stress was assessed with the Chronic Stress Burden Scale. Stress factors included difficulties at work, and in a relationship among other stressors in important life events.

Parents who experienced three or more stressors were twice as likely to have children with obesity than parents who experienced no stress.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH.

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