Parents who are too strict about what their kids eat may cause them psychological problems, a new study claims.
Researchers at Penn State University found that overweight girls as young as 5 suffered from low self-esteem after their moms and dads imposed rules on what foods they could eat.
“When kids are given a standard – for example, eat only a few potato chips, not the whole bag – and they go beyond the limit, they feel bad about themselves,” Professor Leann Birch said.
“Restriction, often seen as an appropriate response when a child becomes overweight, may actually make the problem worse.
“A better approach is to have healthy food in the house so that kids don’t have to be restricted.”
Birch said girls should instead be encouraged to take part in enjoyable physical activities, such as dance or sports.
“Don’t tease girls about their weight, even in a gentle way. It’s clear from our study that the notion that one’s weight can be a social liability emerges early on,” she told the BBC.
For the study, researchers quizzed a group of girls about their self-esteem, then asked their parents how they restricted the girls’ access to food.
Girls who were heavy for their height were more dissatisfied, both with their bodies and their intellectual ability.
The study is published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.