Support from grandparents linked with lower levels of obesity in children

A new pilot study from Karolinska Institutet and the University of Oxford has shown how important the support from grandparents could be in protecting against child obesity. According to the study, published in Pediatric Obesity , emotional support from grandparents may have a preventative effect against child obesity, even with the presence of other risk factors. Previous studies have shown that the parents' socioeconomic status affects the risk of children developing obesity. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oxford looked at the effect of other factors relating to a child's family background. The study involved 39 preschool-aged children from Stockholm County in Sweden who had received treatment for obesity. Both parents of the children answered detailed questionnaires about their education, income, occupation and home environment, including the kinds of support they received and whether they received much from their own parents, i.e. the children's grandparents. The questions aimed to establish the extent to which grandparents contributed daily support, e.g. help with washing and cleaning, financial support and emotional support.