OSU study: Three simple steps could reduce childhood obesity

A study authored by an Ohio State researchers has found that preschoolers who eat dinner with their families, got adequate sleep and limited television viewer were significantly less likely to be obese (Source: “Study: Family routines cut the risk of childhood obesity,” Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 8, 2010).

The study, “Household Routines and Obesity in US Preschool-Aged Children,” was published on the Web site for the journal Pediatrics.

The research found that, independent of diet and exercise, 4-year-olds were 40 percent less likely to be obese if their parents limited TV viewing to no more than two hours a day, if the family ate dinner together at least six nights a week, and if the preschooler slept at least 10 1/2 hours on weekdays. And even if families were able to do one or two of those things, they would still help, according to Sarah Anderson, the study's lead author and an assistant professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University's College of Public Health.

The findings are particularly noteworthy because such routines are free and relatively easy to accomplish.

The research looked at 8,550 children whose parents were asked about various behaviors in 2005 for the national Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.