Issue Date: July 8, 2007
How dads can help daughters
By Susan T. Lennon
Dads: If you feel disgruntled about your body size and obsess about your weight, you might be unwittingly jeopardizing your daughters' health.
Researchers at Stanford University studied 134 newborns and their parents for 11 years to identify dynamics that contribute to bulimia and binge eating in teenage girls. The study's results appeared in the medical journal "American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry" this year.
"We looked at a large variety of risk factors," says researcher Stewart Agras, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Stanford. "Fathers with body dissatisfaction ... tended to give rise to a group of daughters who were a pretty high risk" for bulimia and binge eating.
As early as the third grade, girls pick up subtle and overt messages from their parents that something is wrong with their body size or shape -- even if their weight is normal. They start to diet, skip meals and overexercise, which puts them at risk for disorders later.
Parents who overemphasize weight control may think they're being helpful, but, Agras says, "you might cause the problem that you're trying to avoid."
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Smart behavior
If your child is truly overweight (in the upper 15% of weight for age/height), get a pediatrician's help.
Avoid setting food limits and making critical remarks at mealtime.
Refrain from teasing.
Seek help if you are concerned about your own weight or have an eating disorder.
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