Less Educated Parents more Likely to Feed their Children Unhealthy Food

The educational status of parents influences their children's eating habits. According to a new study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, highly educated parents feed their children unhealthy or junk food less frequently when compared to parents who are not educated well.

For the study, Juan Miguel Fernández Alvira and colleagues looked at 15,000 children and their parents, part of the Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants (IDEFICS) study. The participants were from eight European countries, including Sweden, Spain and Italy.

Highly educated parents were found very particular in developing a healthy eating habit among their children, and provided foods rich with nutrition, including vegetables, fruits and grains. On the other hand, parents coming from a lower educational background were not much concerned about healthy eating, and allowed their children to eat food high in fat and sugar more frequently.

"The greatest differences among families with different levels of education are observed in the consumption of fruit, vegetables and sweet drinks," study author Alvira said in a news release.

"The programmes for the prevention of childhood obesity through the promotion of healthy eating habits should specifically tackle less advantaged social and economic groups, in order to minimise inequalities in health," Alvira added.

Obesity has become one of the major problems, raising concerns about the young generation across the globe. In the United States, about 16 to 33 percent of children and teens are obese.

Obesity is one of the easiest medical conditions to detect, but the toughest to treat. According to a report from the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, "Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year."

Children are always recommended to consume lots of fruits and vegetables for a healthy growth. However, lots of studies conducted earlier have pointed out that American children and teens are not meeting the recommended level of fruit and vegetable intake.

The findings come at a time when low fruit and vegetable consumption accounts for more than 1.7 million deaths worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption can increase the risk of developing a wide range of deadly diseases like cancer, heart diseases and strokes. The organization recommends consuming at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables a day.