Can a home-based healthy lifestyle program for children also improve parents’ health?
This study examined whether a home-based childhood obesity prevention program designed for families could also improve parents’ body weight, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage.
What We Did and Why We Did It
We recruited 44 families with children aged 1.5–5 years from Wellington County, Ontario. Families were randomly assigned to one of three groups: four home visits with a health educator plus tailored emails and mailed resources, two home visits with the same supports, or a control group that received general health emails. During the 6-month intervention, families worked on healthy routines such as improving eating habits, increasing physical activity, reducing screen time, getting enough sleep, and eating more meals together. Researchers measured parents’ height, weight, waist circumference, BMI, and body fat percentage at the beginning of the study, after 6 months, and again 18 months later to determine whether the program affected parent health.
Family-based obesity prevention programs are designed to help children develop healthy habits, but changing family routines may also influence parents’ health. Because parents play a major role in shaping the home environment, improving their own behaviours could benefit the entire family. However, very little research has examined whether childhood obesity prevention programs also improve parents’ body composition.
What We Found
What We Can Learn From This
Parents who had overweight or obesity at the start of the study and received two home visits experienced meaningful improvements in body weight, waist circumference, and BMI compared with the control group. Many of these improvements were still present one year after the intervention ended. Parents who started the study at a healthy weight also experienced small improvements in body weight, BMI, or body fat percentage shortly after the intervention, although these changes were not maintained at the 18-month follow-up. Overall, the findings suggest that a home-based childhood obesity prevention program can provide health benefits for parents as well as children.
Healthy lifestyle programs that involve the entire family may improve the health of both children and parents. Supporting families in making small, sustainable changes at home—such as eating healthier meals together, being active, and establishing healthy routines—may lead to lasting improvements in body weight and overall health. These findings highlight the value of family-centred approaches for obesity prevention rather than focusing only on children or adults individually.
Read the full article published here:
Related Family Resources: