Study: Hispanic Stressed Parents Most Likely to Have Obese Kids

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New research shows that kids with stressed parents are more likely to be obese.

Hispanic mothers and fathers who were stressed saw the greatest impact on their children’s body mass index (BMI) compared to any other ethnicity in the new study, Voxxi reports.

The study, led by St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, found that kids with high-stress parents have a 2% higher BMI than kids with low-stress parents. Researchers speculated that stressed parents were less likely concerned with healthy food options and exercise.

According to the article:

Hispanic children, who made up more than half of the test subjects, were the most predominantly affected by the stress of their parents, a finding study authors feel may indicate Hispanic children are more likely to experience hypherphasia — excessive hunger or increased appetite — and a sedentary lifestyle…

…While much of this health disparity has been attributed to lack of access and knowledge regarding healthy foods, stressed parents may be another factor previously overlooked. Hispanics and other immigrant parents have challenges unique to them including language barriers and the stress of acculturation.

“Childhood is a time when we develop interconnected habits related to how we deal with stress, how we eat and how active we are,” Dr. Ketan Shankardass said in a statement on the St. Michael’s website. “It’s a time when we might be doing irreversible damage or damage that is very hard to change later.”