Survey: Overweight Children and Stress

The American Psychological Association recently completed a nationwide study with Harris Interactive that measured stress levels, coping habits, and other stress-related topics in America's families. The findings were concerning in that they showed that America's parents and children are experiencing heavy amounts of stress, children are suffering more than parents realize, parents are more stressed than they may realize (though children are very aware of this stress), and the coping methods used may actually be perpetuating the problem. (For more specifics on those findings, as well as resources you can use to relieve stress in yourself and your children, see this.)

Another set of findings in the study centered around overweight children and adults. The study showed that many families have trouble staying active and living a healthy lifestyle, and stress can compound that. Emotional eating, sedentary behavior, and other less-healthy responses to stress are more common than families would like, and healthy eating and exercise are challenging habits to maintain, especially in the face of stress. This contributes to the negative cycle of overweight and stress. Here are some of the specific findings of the study: Overweight Adults and Children Feel More Stressed:
The Stress in America survey results show that children and adults alike who are obese or overweight are more likely to report that they feel stress, and overweight or obese children report that their parents were often or always stressed over the past month. Overweight Children Worry More:
Children who are overweight are more likely to report they worry a great deal or a lot compared to children of normal weight (31 percent vs. 14 percent). Overweight children are also significantly more likely than normal-weight children to report the way they look/their weight as something they worry about (36 percent vs. 11 percent). Overweight Children Often Have Stressed Parents:
Children who believe they are overweight are more likely to report that their parents are stressed out always or often than children who believe they are normal weight (39 percent vs. 30 percent). Children Manage Stress In Less Healthy Ways Have Other Problems:
Children who are overweight are more likely than children who are normal weight to report that in the past month they have experienced physical and emotional symptoms such as trouble falling asleep (48 percent vs. 33 percent), headaches (43 percent vs. 28 percent), eating too much or too little (48 percent vs. 16 percent) or feeling angry or getting into fights (22 percent vs. 13 percent), all symptoms commonly associated with stress. Overweight Children More Often Cope In Less Healthy Ways:
Children who are overweight are also more likely than children who are normal weight to report eating (27 percent vs. 14 percent) or taking a nap (26 percent vs. 15 percent) to make themselves feel better when they are really worried or stressed about something. These findings are troubling, but not entirely surprising. So many adults find themselves dealing with emotional eating. We also deal with self-sabotage and have difficult making healthy habits stick. It's not surprising that these patterns start earlier than we may realize. If you or your family members are dealing with these issues, the following resources can help.

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Source: www.stressinamerica.org

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