Families are an important support system, especially when it comes to health and nutrition. When the entire family is focused on health, it’s easier to keep concerns like childhood obesity at bay.
In fact, in a new survey of more than 1000 women by WomensForum.com, more than one-third of moms revealed that they are regularly concerned about childhood obesity in their home. Interestingly, the same survey revealed that 70 percent of moms are worried about their own weight.
So does that mean moms are more focused on their own weight than their children’s? Andrea Metcalf, a health and fitness expert for WomensForum.com, warns people away from jumping to that conclusion.
“It may appear surprising that moms seem to be more concerned about their own weight rather than their children’s, but if you look at what they actually buy at the supermarket, it becomes clear that they view health and nutrition differently from dieting and calorie cutting,” she said.
“Moreover, by making sure that moms maintain a healthy weight themselves, these women are setting a vital example to their kids — one that will hopefully inspire them to be fit and healthy adults.”
It’s not that moms are disregarding their kids’ health, but rather separating their own dieting from creating a healthy lifestyle.
“Moms are the role model for the family structure. Keep in mind that many view health and nutrition differently than calorie cutting or dieting,” Metcalf said. “Moreover, the family wants to lead a healthy lifestyle and the by-product is a healthy body weight. Diet is a four letter word, not a lifestyle.”
In addition to trying to purchase healthy and nutritious foods at the supermarket, many moms are turning to online resources to find information about nutrition and healthy eating for their kids. The survey found that 41 percent of moms turn to the Internet for that kind of information.
Moms also turn to the web for information about dieting and calorie counting. Unsurprisingly, they do so in much higher numbers for themselves (39 percent) than their kids (23 percent).
“Moms are looking to the internet for information on what they purchase. What is interesting is that they look more for themselves as adults than for children,” Metcalf said. “The real key is understanding what to eat and what to buy to be able to have healthy food on hand. With the digital landscape ever-growing it’s important to have that information in hand, which is where mobile applications are providing answers.”
While moms may be worried about their own weight in significant numbers, they are ultimately concerned about their families’ health. When it comes to grocery shopping and researching the latest health information, moms do it with the family in mind.
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