URBANA, Ill. -- Obesity and overweight are growing problems among U.S. children, with approximately 17.1 percent between the ages of two and 19 obese and another 16.5 percent overweight.
Craig Gundersen, associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois, says that younger children in food-secure households who are experiencing higher levels of maternal stressors have a greater probability of being overweight than children in low-income, food insecure households.
Gundersen says that although children in both types of households may want to eat in response to maternal stress, only children in food-secure households may be able to do so. In addition, children in food-secure households may have greater opportunity to consume more 'comfort foods,' which are often unhealthy, as a response to the stress.
Gundersen says that but providing mothers with relevant medical care and counseling, these symptoms may be alleviated and help reduce childhood overweight.
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http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news4692.html
Contacts:
Craig Gundersen (217) 333-2857
Debra Levey Larson, (217) 244-2880, dlarson@uiuc.edu
