11 March 2010
Mothers working part-time best for children's health
Research from Australia suggests that children whose mothers work part-time tend to have healthier lifestyles.
Researchers studied two groups of children aged four to five and six to seven years old to see whether their mothers' working hours affected certain lifestyle behaviours. They looked at the time the children spent watching television, how much they snacked on unhealthy food and how much exercise they did. The researchers considered the relationship between these factors and the children's weight.
The children's mothers completed a diary for two days a week with details of how much time their child spent doing different activities. They were also asked to record how much snack food from each of three groups (sweet drinks; crisps and similar; biscuits, cakes and chocolate) their child had eaten in one 24-hour period.
The researchers asked the mothers how many hours they worked in a week, and whether this was full or part-time. Household income and mother's weight were also recorded.
No details were included about the father's working hours or weight so that data about single mothers could be considered without bias.
The results showed that more children aged four to five were overweight or obese than children aged six to seven. The researchers suggest that at both ages, there was a weak relationship showing that as the time children spent watching television increased, so too did the amount of snack food they ate. The scientists also proposed that increased television watching was linked to a decrease in the time children spent exercising.
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Dr Annabel Bentley, Assistant Medical Director, Bupa |
Childhood obesity is a complex subject. There is more to childhood behaviour than whether mothers work or not. The role of fathers or single parent families is not even considered here and is a significant omission. 
The findings showed that at both ages, children whose mothers worked part-time, as opposed to full-time or not at all, watched less television and consequently snacked less. The researchers suggest that this is because mothers who work make an effort to make the most of the reduced time they have to spend with their children, and this may be easier for mothers who work part-time.
This study showed that although longer maternal working hours were associated with a small increased risk of a child being overweight at age four to five, this did not have any effect on their weight two years later.
Although maternal working hours do seem to be related to children's weight and health, there was no clear link. This suggests that there may well be other factors that have more of an effect, such as the mother's weight and her eating patterns.
Bupa's Assistant Medical Director, Dr Annabel Bentley, said: "Childhood obesity is a complex subject and unfortunately this unpublished draft research paper does not really add much to our understanding. The type of research done does not prove that part-time mothers raise healthier children. There is more to childhood behaviour than whether mothers work or not. The role of fathers or single parent families is not even considered here and is a significant omission."
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Related topics
- Obesity in childhood health factsheet
- Physical activity health factsheet
- Healthy eating health factsheet
Read the study
Brown JE, Broom DH, Nicholson JM, et al. Do working mothers raise couch potato kids? Maternal employment and children's lifestyle behaviours and weight in early childhood. Soc Sci Med 2010; 70(8). Available online 20 February 2010 DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.01.040
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