Training | 2009.09.29
Working mothers' children 'less healthy'
Study claims children of working mothers eat more junk food and watch more TV
Children\'s lifestyles are adversely affected if their mothers go to work, research released today claims.
The study shows that if you strip out all socio-economic, age and ethnic advantages and differences, children in families where mothers work are more likely to be driven to school, watch more TV, consume more sweetened drinks and eat fewer portions of fruit and vegetables than those where the mother stays at home.
The study appears to demonstate a relative health disadvantage as a result of maternal work, but does not show that the children of working mothers are unhealthier than those of non-working mothers.
The raw data, in fact, that emerged from the study of more than 12,000 British schoolchildren involved in the Millenium Cohort Study showed almost precisely the opposite of the statistically adjusted conclusion.
According to the study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the unadjusted results showed that children whose mothers worked part-time or full-time were more likely to eat fruit or vegetables between meals (compared to other snacks), eat more portions of fruit per day, participte in organised exercise or be driven to school than those where the mother did not work.
Only when the information was statistically adjusted by the researchers at University College, London, to eliminate the effects of class and income differences, did a deleterious link between maternal working and the eating and excerise habits of her offspring emerge.
The study shows that where there were two families of the same ages with identical incomes, the same number of children, and similar ethnicity then the youngsters in the family where the mother did not work would be more likely to take more excercise, eat more healthily and watch less television.
The authors of the report insist the findings "do not imply that mothers should not work" but instead highlight "the need for policies and programmes to help support parents".
The study, which did not crosscheck whether or not fathers were present looking after children, found that a total of 30% (4,030) of the mothers had not worked since the birth of their child while the rest (8,546) were employed, typically working 21 hours per week.
The mothers were questioned about the hours they worked and their children\'s diet, exercise and activity levels when the youngsters were five. This included how many sweets and crisps, sugary drinks, and fruit and vegetables the child consumed, whether they took part in organised exercise, and how they got to school.
The research found that many children had habits that could lead to them becoming overweight: 37% of children mostly ate crisps or sweets between meals and 41% mostly drank sweetened drinks, while a total of 61% watched television or used the computer for at least two hours a day.
The researchers, from the Institute of Child Health in London, said of the statistically adjusted results: "Children whose mothers worked part-time or full-time were more likely to primarily drink sweetened beverages between meals (compared to other beverages), use the television/computer at least two hours daily or be driven to school (rather than walk or cycle) than children whose mothers had never been employed."
The researchers also looked at whether flexible working had an impact, but found no strong effect on the health of the children.
The Family and Parenting Institute welcomed the study. "We all know that families can be under strain in managing the twin responsibilities of caring for children and earning a living," said Mary McLeod, the organisation\'s chief executive. "We need more information about whether less healthy eating happens in the family home, childcare or nurseries and schools so we can encourage healthy eating and lots of outdoor play for children.
"The answer is not to keep blaming mothers and fathers, especially in a recession, but to help them. Working mothers and fathers are always trying to do what is best for their family; they need help from employers – for example, greater flexibility over the way and hours they work."
Dr David Vickers, registrar at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "We continue to be greatly concerned by the high numbers of overweight and obese children in the UK. Obesity damages children\'s physical and mental health, and the harmful effects continue into adulthood. We would strongly encourage all parents and carers to promote healthy lifestyle choices by selecting healthy foods for their families and encouraging regular exercise."
Dr Simon Lenton, a consultant community paediatrician and chairman of the British Association of Community Child Health, said: "The key questions are whether these changes in childhood behaviour result in obesity and other long-term conditions, whether there are interventions available to avoid these unintended consequences of maternal employment, or whether increases in minimum wage or an increase in benefit levels could reduce the hours that mothers need to work to mitigate the impact of poverty and so increase life chances for their children."
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/s[...]ing-mothers-unhealthy-children
