The Damage of Dieting

Weight-conscious mothers beware: Counting your young daughter's
calories -- and your own -- may lead her to develop unhealthful eating
habits.

In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, 5-year-old girls whose mothers restricted them from eating
sweet, savory, energy-dense foods on a daily basis consumed about 50%
more of these foods when presented with them -- even on a full
stomach -- than girls who were allowed to include these foods in their
everyday diet.

"Heavier girls get more restrictions, but restriction leads to
greater intake," explains study author Leann Birch, Ph.D., head of
Pennsylvania State University's human development department. "It's a
case of the chicken and the egg, and we don't know which came first."
Birch asked 192 girls what they knew about dieting, and was surprised to
learn that roughly half recognized its link to weight. And all of the
girls who knew about dieting had a mother who was watching her own
weight.

Birch hopes to monitor the girls over the next 10 years to learn
how and when other concerns about weight and dieting emerge. She believes
that instead of restricting children from eating certain foods, parents
should regularly present their kids with healthy snacks, but still allow
occasional treats. "Restriction focuses kids on food, so they learn to
eat in its presence instead of paying attention to internal cues," Birch
says.