Study: Moms To Blame For Overweight Kids

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A new study suggests mothers may be the crucial link between diet and obesity in children.

"Moms have usually been the gatekeepers to the home for a variety of reasons. Food is one of them," Florida Hospital nutritionist Lenore Hodges said.

The study was conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and indicated that a parent's feeding practices, specifically a mother's, surpassed all other influences on a child's body fat.

Ironically, Hodges said it's mothers who are overly concerned about their children's weight who have heavier kids.

"If a mom tends to push a child, and control what the child is eating, the child may not learn self control and may go out and do their own thing when they're not around mom. So it's potato chips and all those things that she won't let them have," Hodges said.

On the other hand, moms in the study who encouraged children to eat everything had thinner kids.

Hodges said to start when kids are young, and use your imagination when offering children new foods, like brocolli.

"Call it a tree; call it something different, and you would be surprised how they look, they examine, and then kind of taste and eventually like it," Hodges said.

And she said even a little junk food won't hurt if they eat healthy most of the time.

"There's no bad food, there's just bad diets. All foods can be used in the appropriate amounts," Hodges said.

Researchers said more studies are needed to better understand the mom factor, but they said obesity prevention and treatment programs need to include strategies that target the behavior of mothers, too.

The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.