Daycare and obesity: Parents weigh in on why kids in daycare more likely to be overweight

Daycare and obesity: Parents weigh in on why kids in daycare more likely to be overweight

Published on Tuesday November 20, 2012

 Thirty-seven per cent of readers who took our Star poll said that Ontario daycares do not do enough to promote physical activity and healthy eating.

Isabel Teotonio
Life Reporter

11 Comments

Lack of playtime. An abundance of junk food. Parents juggling a hectic schedule and relying on convenience foods to feed their kids.

Those are some of the reasons offered by Star readers as to why children attending daycare are more likely to be overweight than preschoolers who stay home with their parents.

And, according to a poll on the Star’s website, the majority of respondents, 37 per cent, think the province’s daycares are not doing enough to boost physical activity and better eating habits.

The response was in reaction to a story about a study in the Journal of Pediatrics done by researchers at the University of Montreal and the CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center.

They studied 1,649 Quebec families with children born in 1997 and 1998 and discovered children who attended daycare were 65 per cent more likely to be overweight between ages 4 and 10, compared with those who stayed home with a parent. And children cared for by an extended family member were 50 per cent more likely to be overweight.

Researchers controlled for risk factors such as birth weight, breastfeeding duration, the family’s socioeconomic status, maternal depression or the mother’s weight or employment status. Lead author of the study, Marie-Claude Geoffroy, couldn’t explain the negative association between daycares and being overweight, saying studies are needed on exercise levels and nutritional quality of foods in daycare centres.

But readers weighed in. (Their comments below have been edited for typos.)

One comment on the Star’s website bemoaned the lack of play time children are getting at some daycares.

“The main daycare that services our local school walks the kids to the kindergarten yard and while all the other children are running around climbing and playing (the children from the daycare must) sit and wait until class starts,” wrote one reader. “Same thing afterschool: no playtime, straight back to the daycare. Not sure if the issue is with liability but it’s not right.”

One parent was critical of all the sweets that get served at daycare.

“My kids are always eating cupcakes and junk at daycare. I hate it. It’s always somebody’s birthday so what can you say? Have them be the only kid not getting cake?”

But others, defended daycares and questioned the busy lifestyle of the parents.

“Both my kids ate very healthy and started an active lifestyle at their daycare,” wrote one parent.

That sentiment was echoed by others.

“Most children in licensed childcare centres are very busy from morning until night! I would look at the factor of two working parents or single parents not having time to prepare a nutritious meal. Fast food is the culprit.”

Another reader wrote that the study’s findings might be connected with the goings-on at home: “It might be less related to what’s happening at the daycare and more to do with rushed parents juggling a lot serving/buying more convenience meals with fatigue, stress and rushing featuring at the end of many work days.”

Along with posting their comments, the Star invited readers to take a poll: Do Ontario daycares do enough to promote physical activity and healthy eating habits?

As of 11 a.m. on Nov. 20, 37 per cent had responded “No,” 28 per cent had responded “Yes,” and 35 per cent did not know.

In Ontario, licensed daycares are regulated to ensure that children are active and eating well. Child care programs must provide meals for all children older than 1, and nutritious between-meal snacks. Children in attendance for six hours or more and under 30 months of age should spend up to two hours outdoors each day, while those who are older should play outside for at least two hours, when weather permits.

Still, the province wants to work harder at reducing childhood obesity by 20 per cent over five years. That’s why it has formed the Healthy Kids Panel, which is made up of experts, to help develop a strategy to meet its target. The panel will report back to the province before winter.