New research published this week suggests that middle-class mothers who work are more likely to have obese children than mothers from less well-off families.
The risk of childhood obesity is soaring in families with incomes of more than £33,000 and where working mothers spend less time at home. The risk is particularly bad for children cared for by a nanny or placed in other forms of childcare while their parents work, the study found.
The latest research flies in the face of the common perception that children from lower-income households are more likely to be overweight.
Researchers from the Institute of Child Health at University College London and Great Ormond Street Hospital have shown that obesity increases in direct correlation with family income. And in higher-income households, the longer the mother works each week, the greater the chances of her child being overweight.
The findings, published in the International Journal of Obesity, suggest that working mothers spend less time preparing healthy meals and encouraging their children to participate in physical activities.
The study monitored the development of 13,113 children, and concluded that changing patterns of family life contributed significantly to the rising prevalence of childhood obesity.
“We found that children were more likely to be overweight at age three if their mother held employment since their birth,” said the researchers.
“Children’s likelihood of being overweight rose with the number of hours their mother worked per week. But this relationship is only significant for children from families with the highest household income levels."
The report stated that long hours of maternal employment, rather than lack of money, may impede young children’s access to healthy foods and physical activity.
