Dads Responsible for Kids' Obesity???????

New research is supporting an idea that moms have known for years.  Dads are responsible for encouraging bad habits in children.

Actually, what the authors of a new study have suggested is that fathers are more likely than mothers to have an impact on their children’s obesity, as fathers tend to be more lenient regarding food choices. 

Specifically, the study, published in the May issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behaviour, looked at parents’ use of time and how it impacted meal choices, and found that fathers are more likely to indulge their children with fast food, which is linked to weight gain.

Some have speculated that dads choose fast food to please their children, others feel it has more to do with laziness, that dads would rather go through a drive thru than make a home cooked meal.  Regardless of the motive, many of us moms know that dad’s food choices tend to be in conflict with the healthy habits we try to instill in our children.

So maybe now we can be a bit vindicated in having some real scientific proof that the dads need to wizen up!!!

According to Alex McIntosh, study leader, “Traditionally academics have blamed mothers for everything that goes wrong with children, especially when it comes to food” and suggests that fathers need to be the “target of education just like mothers.”

The thing is, we all know that fast food is bad for us and that cause weight gain.  Fathers, you don’t get a pass this time for lack of information. 

There are many ways to treat your children, but giving them something that is harmful is not one of them.  Here are a few great ways you can spend quality time with your children, while instilling healthy habits at the same time.

Picnics at the park- Kids love picnics, and they’ll even pack their own meal.  It doesn’t have to be spectacular.  Let them decide what goes into the sack, but give them guidelines, like 1-protein 1- whole grain, and 1 fruit or vegetable, and water or a low sugar drink


‘Make your own’ night-  Kids enjoy cooking, so have a night in which the kids make dinner.  Make it simple, like eggs and toast with fruit salad, or have a baked potato bar loaded with great toppings like leftover chicken, broccoli, cheese and salsa


A family walk after dinner-  Dads - give busy moms a break and enjoy time with the kids at the same time by taking them for a walk after dinner.  You will be teaching your children good habits that will last a lifetime, and remind your wife that you really are a rock-star!!!
Are dads really responsible for their children’s weight problems?  Of course not!  But we do need to recognize the influence we have over our children, and take every opportunity to encourage good health. 

For more ideas on how to keep our kids healthy through good nutrition and fitness, visit


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Portion Control can Help You Lose a Pound a Week!

Portion control, or limiting the amount of food we eat in one sitting,  is one of the most effective ways to lose weight.  We all know that if we just left a little more on our plates every time, the pounds would melt off, but for some reason we just don’t do it.

Here are a few tips that can help you meet your goal.

1-  Use smaller plates and glasses- have you ever noticed how a child will often leave the dinner table with food on her plate? At some point in our lives, we have learned to override our internal cues for hunger and satiety and will typically eat everything on our plates.  Switching from a large dinner plate to a salad plate can help you cut your calorie intake by 20%, which can mean big gains, or rather losses, in the weight loss battle.

2-  Use portion controlled serving utensils - I love ice cream scoops- they make portioning so easy.  Whether I want to make sure that I’m getting enough of a vegetable portion, or not too much of a starch, I can get the right portion every time.


3-  Never eat out of the bag - when you want a snack, make sure you put your portion into a separate, appropriately sized container,and put the original container back in the pantry.  This helps avoid eating the whole bag.


4- Portion snacks into bags immediately after purchase- also, when I get home from the grocery store with a bag of snacks, I often make the time right then to portion out the entire bag into reasonable snack-sized bags, eliminating any concerns of eating too much at one time.  This is really helpful for keeping costs down with your children’s snacks too!

If large portions are your problem area, putting these four tips into practice could help you lose up to a pound a week, without “dieting” or depriving yourself!

Eat Well            www.sickofspaghetti.com           Spend Less