Do Children Become More Overweight When There Mother Works Outside of the Home

Owirodu 1 of 12

Do Children Become More Overweight When Their Mother Works Outside of the Home?

By: Akosua Owirodu

November 21, 2006

ECON 4330

Dr. Michael Ward Owirodu 2 of 12

Childhood obesity is a serious problem that affects increasingly more and more children in the

United States today. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, “Over the past 3 decades, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged

2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years.” Today there are anywhere from 8 to 10 million children, 6 years of age and older, who are suffering from childhood obesity.

Why is obesity such a serious problem? Besides children having to deal with the emotional day to day struggles of living with obesity (peer humiliation, fatigue, shortness of breath, etc..), they are also at a higher risk of developing many other serious health problems; such as, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance, and orthopedic problems just to name a few. There are also social and emotional problems that may arise, for instance, low self esteem, negative self image, depression, discrimination, and negative stereotyping. (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies: “Facts & Figures”)

Economic Question

Do children really become more overweight when their mothers work outside of the home? The answer is yes. In a study conducted by Patricia Anderson, Kristin Butcher, and

Phillip Levine in the article “When Mom Works, Kids Get Fat”, they found that “Children are fatter if their mothers work longer hours. This is true even within families: The sibling who spent more times as a latchkey child will tend to be the fatter one, perhaps because the mother is less able to supervise outdoor play or has less time to cook and therefore buys more fast food.”

(Harford) Owirodu 3 of 12

Reasons for Weight Gain

I propose six main reasons why children become more overweight when their mothers participate in the labor force. First, children today eat “convenient” foods more frequently than in the past. In the past women have been homemakers. There job was to take care of the children, cook, clean, and keep the house running smoothly. Things are no longer this way. Many women now are productive members of the workforce. It is a fact that working mothers have less time to spend in the kitchen. These women simply do not have time to cook four course meals for their families; because these women are so pressed for time, they choose to purchase foods that are convenient. Convenient foods are those foods that need little to no preparation time before they can be consumed. Foods such as, potato chips, TV dinners, and fast food are all examples of convenient foods. These foods, while pleasing to the palette, are crammed with fat, sodium, preservatives, dyes, and calories.

New technology used by the food industry has made it easier and less time consuming to eat foods that in the past were very inconvenient and took a long time to prepare. For example, mass food manufacturing, convenient packaging, flash freezing, and of course fast food restaurants have all lowered the cost of eating foods we love in terms of time and money. The problem is that a lot of these foods are bad for our health. When children are left to “fend for themselves” at home alone, they will usually not make the healthiest eating decisions. They would prefer to go for what is quick and what tastes good, which are usually high calorie snack foods with little or no nutritional value. (Harford)

Second, there is not a proven correlation between television advertisements aimed at children and childhood obesity, but it is a known fact that children ask for the foods that they see advertised on the television. About 50 percent of the advertisements on TV that are targeted at Owirodu 4 of 12 children are for candy, sodas, fast food, cereal, and snack items. These are all foods that are high in calories and fat and low in nutritional value. But these are the foods that children are asking for. (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies: “Advertisement, Marketing and the

Media”)

Third, children do not engage in as much physical activity during or after school. Many schools nowadays have relaxed their requirements for physical education courses. The recommended amount of activity for children is at least 1 hour per day. In the year 2000, a survey was conducted that found 8% of elementary schools, 6.4% of middle schools, and 5.8% of high schools consistently provided the recommended amount of physical exercise throughout the entire school year. (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies: “Schools Can Play a

Role…”)

Since the invention of the internet and gaming systems, children have begun to live more sedentary lifestyles. Instead of playing outdoors, joining a sporting league or becoming involved in some type of after school activity, children plant themselves in front of the television or the computer. “One study found that those youth who watched more than 5 hours of television per day were 4.6 times as likely to be obese as those watching no TV or up to 2 hours daily.”

( Institue of Medicine of the National Academies: “Parents Can Play A Role….”)

Fourth, child safety is also an issue. It is not as safe in this day and time for children to walk to school or to be able to play outside unattended as children in the past once did. The increase in violent crimes against children in the past 30 years, such as child abduction, rape, murder, and gang violence, have caused parents to keep a tighter reign on their children. This means that instead of walking to and from school, providing that the school is within walking distance, children now have to get a ride. And for those children who have working parents that Owirodu 5 of 12 are unable to be home when they get home from school, this means no outdoor activities until mom or dad gets home. By that time there may not be enough daylight left outside for the children to indulge in their recreational activities.

Fifth, many children are not getting an adequate amount of sleep at night. When parents work longer and longer hours, there is less time to supervise the activities of their children. This could lead to a child indulging in more of the activities he or she pleases. For example, watching

TV or playing on the computer during bedtime. If children do not get an adequate amount of sleep they are more likely to overeat. The reason being when our bodies do not get the rest they require, we tend to have more of an appetite which causes us to increase our food intake. Two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, are affected when we do not get enough rest. Not getting a good nights sleep causes our bodies leptin levels to decrease, this leads to an increase in appetite which when we indulge and overeat causes weight gain. In the same way not getting enough rest causes our body’s leptin levels to decrease, it also causes our ghrelin levels to increase. The result of this increase in ghrelin is also an increase in appetite. The net result of this increase and decrease in hormone levels caused by sleep deprivation is an increase in appetite which leads to weight gain. (Spiesel)

Sixth, many children may use food to fill an emotional void in their lives due to their parents working long hours and stress in the home. Women these days do not just have jobs, they have careers. There jobs are just as important, or in some cases even more important than their husbands. With the stress and fatigue of 8-12 hour work days 5 or more times a week, taking care of the children, money issues, and having to work another four or more hours in the home each night, it is no wonder the divorce rate among couples is more than 58%. Parents are not the only ones who are feeling “stressed out”. Children also must deal with the stresses of a tense Owirodu 6 of 12 home environment, as well as, the emotional strain of not receiving enough of their parent/parents attention. Many children look to one of the closest sources for comfort, the kitchen pantry.

Down to the Economics

The six propositions above give reasons as to why children become more overweight when their mothers participate in the workforce. Now let us look at why so many mothers enter the workforce to begin with. There are six main reasons that the participation of women in the workforce has increased. First, the real wage has increased. This is the biggest factor in the increase of female participation in the workforce. According to the textbook Labor Economics by George J. Borjas, “Most studies of female labor supply find a positive relationship between a woman’s hours of work and her wage rate. About 60 percent of the total growth in the female labor force between 1890 and 1980 can be attributed to the rising real wage of women.” Unlike men in their prime, women tend to respond directly to the real wage. As the real wage rises, women will work longer and longer hours. (Borjas 54)

Second, there have been changes in fertility. “Between 1950 and 1989, the total lifetime fertility of the average adult woman declined from 3.3 to 2.0 children, so changes in fertility probably contributed to the increase in female labor participation.” (Borjas 53) Why is this the case? Could it be that a higher real wage caused women to want to have fewer children, because having more and more children was becoming “an expensive household activity”? (Borjas 53)

Or could it be the other way around that women increased the time spent working outside of the home because they have fewer children these days? “Many studies have, in fact, shown that there Owirodu 7 of 12 is a very strong negative correlation between a woman’s wage rate and the number of children that she will have.” (Borjas 99)

Third, there have been numerous technological advances seen in household production.

Technology has really made a huge impact on women’s decisions to work outside of the home.

In the past, it was a full time job for a woman to take care of the home. Nowadays with inventions like the vacuum cleaner, the microwave oven, the washer machine, and an overabundance of drive- thru restaurants, the time it takes to fulfill the needs and obligations of a family are greatly reduced. Technological advances have also done something else; it has decreased the need for specialization between husbands, wives, and even children. These days, the husband and children should be able to wash their own clothes, make themselves a snack, and keep themselves entertained for hours. Technology has greatly decreased the time that must be spent performing household chores. (Borjas 54)

Fourth, the changing cultural, legal, and economic changes in our society have caused women to increase their labor force participation rates. Economic, social, and cultural factors have played a big role in the increase in women’s decisions of working outside of the home. Our culture has transformed greatly in the past 50 years or so. It is not a rare occurrence to see women in the workforce; holding high powered positions nonetheless, such as being an astronaut, a doctor, or even holding a seat in the United States Senate. Women now have a voice in society. Women are no longer held back by not being able to receive an education. Women have the right to vote. Women do not have to rely on finding a husband to support them. And women no longer have to be boggled down with the day to day tasks of performing household chores. (Borjas 54) Owirodu 8 of 12

Fifth, single mothers with children must work to support themselves and their children. A single mother who is not married and has no other form of income must work to support herself, as well as her children. This is a struggle that many single women are facing today in America. It is definitely not an easy task for these women, but it is what has to be done in order for them to survive and to provide a decent life for their children.

Sixth, many women find it easier to work outside of the home because of the negative remarks they would receive otherwise from family and friends. In this society, a woman staying at home to take care of the family is looked down upon as a waste of time, talent, and mental energy. If a woman tries to be a housewife, she will be defending her decision to family, friends, former co-workers, and possibly, even her own husband. With this much negative pressure, it is just easier to work outside the home.

The Effects of the Anti-Trans Fat Movement

The effects of trans fats has recently become of increasingly more and more importance in our society. And rightly so, trans fats have been linked to some serious health conditions, such as, heart disease and Type II Diabetes. Trans fats are oils in liquid form that are turned into semi- liquid oils through chemical processing. The way trans fats work is they raise the levels of “bad’ cholesterol in the body called lipoprotein while reducing the “good” levels of cholesterol that they body needs. Because trans fats are not able to be effectively broken down by the body, they accumulate in our arteries. (CBC News In Depth: “Trans Fats”)

Many medical researchers have found that trans fat is not the only fat that we should be worried about. Saturated fats are not good for us either. Saturated fat does the same thing as trans fat but worse. Saturated fat can be up to ten times as harmful to our bodies as the same amount of Owirodu 9 of 12 trans fat. This is probably because we consume more saturated fat in our diets than trans fats. On average, Americans consume a four times smaller amount of trans fats in their diets than they consume of saturated fats. (Kolata)

In response to all of the health concerns that have arisen about the effects of trans fats along with some of their own research on the matter, the Food and Drug Administration required that the amount of trans fat a product contains must be visibly placed on the nutritional label if the product contains more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. While this makes it easier to spot foods we should not be eating, it is still up to the parents to choose those foods which have the most nutritional value for their children. (Shelke)

One of the most talked about topics in the food industry right now is obesity in children.

Many food companies are tired of sitting back and doing nothing. They are ready to take a more proactive, instead of passive role, in the solution to this problem. Many of these companies have taken on the challenge of removing the unhealthy and harmful elements in foods and replacing them with healthier, nutrient rich essentials. One such example of this is the H&H food company. The Texas school systems were crying out for more “wholesome goodness” in the foods they were serving in the schools. In response, H&H foods created various new food products containing omega-3 fatty acids. While being much better for the children’s health and well being, these foods also taste great and gained the approval of the children. (Shelke)

Conclusion

Childhood obesity is an important problem in our society. Each day our children are falling prey to medical conditions that are brought on by being excessively overweight. New technology creating “convenient” foods, television advertisements targeting children, a lack of Owirodu 10 of 12 sufficient physical activity, leading more sedentary lifestyles in front of the television set or gaming system, the rising stress in households in which both parents work, and a world that becomes less and less secure everyday have all contributed to the problem of childhood obesity.

Seeing a woman in the workforce, is not an uncommon thing these days. Their careers are just as important as their husbands. This country would not be what it is today with out such a large infusion of women working outside of the home. The main reason that we have seen such a large number of women “going back to work” is the increase of the real wage. Technological advancements making household chores less time consuming, changes in women’s fertility decisions, the ever changing economic and societal changes that have taken place, the stigma now placed on housewives, and the sheer necessity of financial support in homes run by single mothers are other factors that have lead to the increased number of women working outside of the home.

The anti trans fat movement has brought to light many of the ill effects that trans fats have on the American population, especially our children. Even with its negative effects brought to light however, it is still up to the parents, the school systems, and any other entity that provides care to children, to make healthier decisions of what foods to feed our children. We should take it a step further and educate children on the importance of remaining healthy, exercising, and making healthy eating choices. Owirodu 11 of 12

References

1.) Saleton, William. “Junk-Food Jihad: Should We Regulate French Fries Like Cigarettes?”

Human Nature: Science, Technology, and Life (April 2006).

http://www.slate.com/id/2139941 (5 Nov. 2006).

2.) “Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures” Institute of Medicine of the

National Academies (September 2004). http://www.iom.edu/?id=22638 (1 Nov. 2006).

3.) “Advertising, Marketing, and the Media: Improving Messages” Institute of Medicine of

the National Academies (September 2004). http://www.iom.edu/?id=22639 (1 Nov.

2006).

4.) “Schools Can Play a Role in Preventing Childhood Obesity” Institute of Medicine of the

5.) “Parents Can Play a Role in Preventing Childhood Obesity” Institute of Medicine of the

6.) Harford, Tim. “When Mom Works, Kids Get Fat: An Incendiary New Explanation for

Childhood Obestiy” The Undercover Economist: The Economic Mysteries of Daily Life

(September 2006). http://www.slate.com/id/2150391 (2 Oct. 2006).

7.) Spiesel, Sydney. “Why We’re Fatter: Five Reasons You Haven’t Thought Of” Medical

Examiner: Health and Medicine Explained (July 2006). http://www.slate.com/id/2145689

(1 Nov. 2006).

8.) Shelke, Kantha. “Time to Change Your Oil” FoodProcessing.com: The Digital Resorce

of Food Processing Magazine (2004).

http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2004/190.html (10 Nov. 2006). Owirodu 12 of 12

9.) “Trans Fats” CBC News In Depth: FAQs (November 2006).

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/fats/transfats.html (10 Nov. 2006).

10.) Kolata, Gina. “The Panic Du Jour: Trans Fats in Foods” NY Times (August 2005).

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/weekinreview/14kola.html?

ex=1162702800&en=142bd41e81ae9862&ei=5070 (5 Nov. 2006).

11.) Borjas, George J. (2000). Labor Economics. 2nd ed. Boston: The McGraw-Hill Co.