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Abigail Harrison
Professor Adam Padgett
English 102
5 April 2016
Obesity in Children: Why are Children Becoming Obese?
Obesity is a recurring theme of discussion in todays society. More and more children
have become obese and are starting to live unhealthy lifestyles. Obesity in adults and children
has been on the rise over the last 40 years and although the percentages have begun to level out,
there does not seem to be an end to this trend anytime soon. In a study completed in 2014, it was
shown that more than one-third of adults and 17% (or 12.7 million) of children and adolescents
aged 2-19 are obese (Ogden et al). There are many factors that could lead to the increase of the
population to being overweight. There are three major factors found through research, that
support the argument that family influence leads to obesity of children. One factor that seems to
have a major influence on the rising trend of child obesity is the ways parents put emphasis,
restrictions, and pressures on food. The second factor is a parents decision to use a reward
system connecting food with good behaviors. The third factor is how the parents act as role
models, and their choice of food or lifestyle directly impacts the food choices of their children.
This leads to the question, How do these factors within a family lead to obesity in children and
adolescents?
The first factor of family influence being discussed is how the family puts restrictions and
pressures on specific types of food. In the parents best efforts of trying to keep their child
healthy, many parents are restricting certain foods from the child. The belief is that if the children

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are not exposed to foods that are unhealthy, the child will not develop habits of eating that
particular food, and if they are only exposed to healthy food, the child will only choose to eat
food that is healthy as they begin to make their own decisions about what they decide to eat and
fuel their body. Parents with this philosophy tend to restrict foods that are high in fat,
carbohydrates, sugars, and processed foods. They emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat
proteins, and organic foods. Some parents can be on different levels of restrictions, ranging
moderate to extremely restrictive.
Placing restrictions on food leads to mental problems that can feed into later physical
problems. Even the tiniest amount of restrictions can show mental and physical problems as the
child begins to grow into a teen, and then later on an adult. The idea of restricting foods for the
sole purpose of the child not eating the foods, has an adverse effect. Research indicates that
restricting by limiting access to sweet and fatty snacksare associated with negative outcomes
and restriction is strongly correlated with children's disinhibited eating behaviors (Scaglioni et
al). Children that have their diet strictly monitored in this way by their parents are more likely to
show a lack of restraint when given the opportunity to be independent outside the family setting,
to eat foods that are restricted when eating is supervised by the parent. Restricting foods that
taste good to the child tends to increase the desire to have that food and they eat even without
feeling hungry (Gibson et al.). This in turn leads the child to have problems with self-regulation
and is one of the most important reasons why people have unhealthy eating habits and then
consequently, become obese and have serious health problems. According to Pruder and Munsch,
Binge eating might be driven from a deficit in affect-regulation emotional eating as a response
to an adverse arousal state in combination with engaging in strict dietary restraint (Puder and
Munsch). The idea of parents restricting food from the child also leads to additional pressure on

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the child. This can also have the opposite effect desired by the parents. Internally, the child can
feel discouraged from eating certain foods, because the pressure applied by parents created an
emotionally negative experience for the child. The child will now associate these negative
feelings they have experienced and apply it to the food they will eat. This can lead to serious
health effects on a young child and as they grow into adolescence, the negative feelings will stem
into an array of eating patterns. There can be so much pressure on a child they could become
obese, or even the complete opposite and become too thin. How the child perceives the pressure
put onto them by their parent or guardian can create an array of emotional and physical issues.
Overall, the idea of parents restricting foods and creating pressure on the child to constantly eat
healthy can have adverse effects on the childs mental and physical health. Some restrictions
provide a foundation for positive eating habits for the child, but many of these situations directly
or indirectly lead to unhealthy eating habits and obesity in young children and adolescence.
The second family factor that has been shown to influence problems of obesity in young
children is the idea of rewarding. Parents often use extrinsic motivators and rewards to reinforce
positive behaviors. For example, these extrinsic motivators could be money or privileges as
rewards for good behavior, good grades, or completing common household tasks. In many
households, rewarding a child for good eating practices has become a more common way to
teach children what they should be eating to fuel their bodies. Often, these rewards are not tied
to healthy eating, and using sweet, tasty foods as a reward can encourage unhealthy eating
patterns. It has been shown that using food as a reward for good behavior increased preschool
aged childrens preference for those foods, and because sweet, palatable foods, are often used as
rewards, this practice can have the unintended consequence of promoting childrens preferences
for energy dense, palatable foods that are often unhealthy (Savage, Fisher, and Birch). In this

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case, a child will associate unhealthy food with positive behaviors and initially will exhibit the
desired behaviors as a way to receive a reward. If this reward is always food, a habit of
unhealthy eating can develop and a desire to continue to eat the unhealthy food will increase,
even if it is no longer used for a reward. The child will begin to crave this type of food, and as
the child grows into an adolescent will tend to continually pick the fatty and sugary foods over
vegetables and fruits.
Another type of reward system is using flavorful food as a reward for healthy eating.
According to the European Food Information Council (EUFIC), Rewarding with a highly
palatable food can defeat the purpose of rewarding. When a tasty food is offered as a reward,
childrens desire for the 'reward' food increases over the food the parents are trying to encourage
them to eat. (Parental influence). This type of reward system appears to be contradictory and
raises a serious question. If a parent wants to promote healthy eating, why introduce foods that
they are trying to avoid? If a food-for-food reward system is in place, a child will progress to the
point where they associate healthy food as being less palatable and the reward food as being
more palatable. Once this connection is developed, a child will no longer be willing to
independently try new foods. For example, a child who is rewarded with a sweet dessert that is
only accessible when she has consumed all of her broccoli will tend to show a decrease in liking
for and consumption of broccoli, and increase in preference for and consumption of the sweet
dessert (Blisett and Fogel). Given this knowledge, parents can use a variety of non-food
rewards that are meaningful to the child to reinforce the healthy eating habits. Using unhealthy
food as a reward can reduce a childs desire to eat healthy foods while increasing their desire to
eat unhealthy foods. As the desire to eat unhealthy foods continue to determine the childs
behavior, they will begin to eat so much of it, that their health will decline and could turn into

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obesity at a young age. The extrinsic motivators parents use can create both positive or negative
habits while intrinsic motivation is based solely on what the child feels is important.
The third factor of family influence that leads to obesity in young children and
adolescence is modeling. Modeling is one of the most important factors that define the family
relationship and the chances for obesity in young children and adolescents. Children are known
to model the behaviors of others, especially their parents and siblings. Due to the family
structure, children will have the same eating patterns as their parents, because it is the parents
who make the decisions about the food that is eaten, the time of day snacks and meals will be
provided, and where they will be eaten. If a child is constantly surrounded by cheeseburgers,
french fries, milkshakes, and similar high in fat foods, then the child will not know a better way
to eat. They will copy the parents or guardian in their lives, even if it is not necessarily the
healthiest style of living. Many families are also living lifestyles where the traditional home
cooked family dinner eaten at the table is not happening anymore. Many families are having
many of their meals from fast food restaurants, which increase the amount of unhealthy food
options and portion sizes due to convenience. It is very hard to find a healthy meal that does not
costs more money in these fast food restaurants. Take for instance a salad will be twice as much
as a cheeseburger will be. Therefore, a family feeding children will generally go towards the
option that is the cheapest route financially. This being said, the parents of the child are buying
larger portions of unhealthy foods, rather than eating a home-cooked meal that would be much
healthier at home. In this situation, the parents are modeling the unhealthy eating habits and their
children are exposed to these negative habits. Having no modeling behaviors can be equally as
bad as having negative role models. In one study, the absence of parents feeding practices and
lack of engagement in physical activity affect childrens ability to maintain healthy weight

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(Webber and Loescher). This is a huge part in why children are becoming so unhealthy. Parents
are there in a childs life to model, show, and teach their child about how to be healthy and live
healthy, however the parents tend to set negative examples for the child. The child will not know
any better and will continue the unhealthy eating styles, that they obtained from their parents,
and it will be extremely hard to break these bad habits. Once a child has acquired the bad habits,
it becomes very hard to try to steer the child another way, which will lead them into a downward
spiral of unhealthy choices. This will ultimately lead the child to become obese, with no way of
turning back.
In conclusion, there are many factors that affect the eating habits of children in families,
and often times these negative habits lead to obesity. The first factor of the family relationship is
how they parents place restrictions and pressures on foods, which leads to negative feeling
towards eating. The second factor of the family relationship is rewards and how rewarding a
child with unhealthy food for eating healthy, creates adverse effects on the childs overall wellbeing. The third factor of the family relationship is modeling and how the child looks up to his or
her parents for guidance. If they live and unhealthy lifestyle, so will the child. These factors are
all interrelated and are directly centered around the parent and family influences. It is important
to note that each of the factors discussed individually and collectively all have an impact on a
childs eating habits and can be contributing factors to obesity in children and adolescents. TO
help the epidemic, it is important that health specialists and doctors educate the parents of the
child to prevent obesity from starting early on. Without knowledge of what the parents are doing
wrong, this issue will not be solved anytime soon, it could just get worse.

Works Cited

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Gibson, E. L., Kreichauf, S., Wildgruber, A., Vgele, C., Summerbell C. D., Nixon, C., Moore,
H., Douthwaite, W., Manios Y., and ToyBox-Study Group. A Narrative Review of
Psychological and Educational Strategies Applied to Young Children's Eating Behaviours
Aimed at Reducing Obesity Risk. Obesity Reviews. Volume 13, Issue Supplement s1,
pages 8595, March 2012. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2011.00939.x
Jackie Blissett, Anna Fogel, Intrinsic and extrinsic influences on children's acceptance of new
foods, Physiology & Behavior, Volume 121, 10 September 2013, Pages 89-95, ISSN
0031-9384, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.02.013.
Koehly, Laura M., and Aunchalee Loscalzo. Adolescent Obesity and Social
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Ogden, C.L., Carroll M.D., Kit B.K., Flegal K.M. Prevalence of Childhood and Adult Obesity
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Perryman, Mandy L. Ethical Family Interventions for Childhood Obesity. Preventing Chronic
Disease 8.5 (2011): A99. Print.
Pruder, J.J. and Munch, S. Psychological Correlates of Childhood Obesity. International
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Savage, Jennifer S., Jennifer Orlet Fisher, and Leann L. Birch. Parental Influence on Eating
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Silvia Scaglioni, Chiara Arrizza, Fiammetta Vecchi, and Sabrina Tedeschi. Determinants of

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children's eating behavior. The American Journal for Clinical Nutrition (2011).
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