According to Sarah Anderson, PhD, of Ohio State University College of Public Health in Columbus, and Robert Whitaker, MD, of Temple University in Philadelphia, three simple household routines are associated with an almost 40% reduction in the risk of childhood obesity.
The study was based on 4 year olds who were followed for 3 years. Families who routinely followed these 3 habits had children who were significantly less likely to suffer from childhood obesity. These 3 habits have also been shown to improve schoolwork and achievement scores.
#1 Eat dinner as a family six or seven times a week.
#2 Limit the time the child watches TV to less than two hours a day.
#3 Make sure he or she gets more than 10.5 hours of sleep a night.
No one of these habits seem to be more important than any other, and only children who did all three had the significant risk reduction.
Posted by Dr. Caren Beasley on under