Young kids cared by grandparents more likely to be obese

Details of the study
To come up with this finding, a research team from the University College London examined data from the ‘Millennium Cohort Study,’ involving health records of 12,000 children in the age group of nine months and three years, born in the UK between 2000 and 2001.

Outcome of the study
On analysis, the researchers found kids who were partly looked after by their grandparents had a 15 percent higher incidence of being overweight than their age, compared to their counterparts who were exclusively looked after by their parents.

The risk peaked to 34 percent if the grandparents took full time care of the young children, they noted.

Additionally, the risk of being overweight was more apparent among children who hailed from upper socio-economic groups, for instance, whose mothers had a managerial or professional job, had a degree, or lived with their partner.

Further analysis taking into account the informal care provided by the relatives, only if was full-time, was also found to be correlated to an increased risk of being overweight.

The researchers, however, could not explain why grandparent’s care was correlated with boosting child obesity in kids.

But the situation could be controlled by apprising the grandparents; with better information and support about child diet and exercise.

Study leader Professor Catherine Law said, "One of the ways forward would be to talk to small groups of grandparents to see the challenges they face.

"Some of the things that might help would be educating the population in general about healthy lifestyles but also things like avoiding food as a reward and suggestions for building activities into daily life."

The study appears in the International Journal of Obesity.