Affective relationships prevent obesity

• April 25, 2024

According to a study published earlier this year, children who did not have a secure emotional relationship with their parents (men), were at greater risk of obesity at four years old However, a new study states that the risk persists until age 15.

In this second research from Ohio State University, it was shown that the kind of emotional relationship that is established between a mother and her child can make the difference between a teenager obese and another of normal weight.

On this occasion, they selected 977 children born in 1991, from whom they obtained data on the relationship with their mothers, while they were recording the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the minors.

They found that the less sensitive the mother was to the emotional needs of her child, that is, the lesser the ability to recognize her child's emotional state and respond to it correctly, the more risk she had of being obese at 15 years old.

Of the minors who had poor quality relationships, 25% were obese, against 13% of those who had closer ties with their mothers.

In this regard, Dr. Sarah Anderson, author of both studies, explained that the limbic system of brain controls the response to stress , but also the sleep / wake cycle, hunger, thirst, and a variety of metabolic processes by regulating hormones .

So a good response to thestress influences the way children sleep and eat, two factors that are also related to the obesity : the child who does not handle thestress sleep less and eat more.

In this way, they recommended that in the face of current problems of obesity children, in addition to establishing adequate feeding programs and exercise , Affective dynamics are carried out that allow to strengthen the relationships between parents and children. And you, do you know what your child stresses, worries and feels?

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Video Medicine: Emotion, Stress and Health: Crash Course Psychology #26 (April 2024).