Talking about weight with teens may cause poor diet

Conversations between parents and their adolescent children that focuses on negative aspects of the teen’s weight may reinforce diet problems.
This is according to research conducted by the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, which studied 3,528 parents and 2,348 of their children.
Among overweight teenagers whose mothers talked to them about healthy eating, there was significantly lower prevalence of positive dietary action, with only 40.1 per cent in this group attempting to consume more nutritious food compared to 53.2 per cent of those who did not discuss weight.
However, when conversations were held between fathers and children, scientists found the number of people who started diets was substantially higher – indicating that adolescents may trust their patriarch more in regards to this subject.
Dr Jerica Berge, who was involved in writing the study, said: “Because adolescence is a time when more youths engage in disordered eating behaviours, it is important for parents to understand what types of conversations may be helpful or harmful in regard to disordered eating.”