Daily HealthBeat Tip

Clean your plate?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I�m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Researchers say first graders are more likely to be overweight if their parents tend to be just strict than if their parents set standards but also show sensitivity.

Overweight was about five times more common among kids whose moms were basically strict than among kids whose moms were strict but supportive.

Kyung Rhee of Boston University School of Medicine suspects kids of basically strict moms were being told things like clean their plates even if they were full. She offers an alternative:

"You can try to provide them with a healthy meal, but let them determine the proportion they want to eat. Or, for the younger kids, just letting them tell you how much they want on their plate." (nine seconds)

The report in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: June 5, 2006

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