Study of the Day: To Teach Kids to Eat Smart, Parents Should Show, Not Tell

New research from Michigan State University shows that leading by example promotes healthier diets among children than explicit food restrictions.

PROBLEM: How does parental behavior during mealtime influence children's food intake, weight, and obesity risk?

METHODOLOGY: To explore the possible consequences of directive (overt) and nondirective (covert and environmental) forms of parental feeding control, Michigan State University researchers led by Megumi Murashima collected data from 330 dyads of children, aged three to five, and mothers participating in a federal preschool program for low-income families. They assessed the moms' feeding practices, the kids' food consumption, and the height and weight of both the mothers and children.

Healthy Life Expectancy

                                      

This recent Life Expectancy Metric calculates how long an individual can expect to live free of Disability and other impairments.

                                                 RED -> GREEN-> PURPLE-> GRAY

                                                  high --------------------------------------->low

	1	Japan	76.0		65	Serbia/Monten	65.0		129	Kazakhstan	56.0
	2	San Marino	75.0		66	Cook Islands	65.0		130	New Guinea	56.0
	3	Switzerland	75.0		67	Bahamas	65.0		131	India	56.0
	4	Andorra	74.0		68	Oman	65.0		132	Comoros	56.0
	5	Sweden	74.0		69	Maldives	64.0		133	Bangladesh	56.0
	6	Italy	74.0		70	Palau	64.0		134	Eritrea	55.0
	7	Iceland	74.0		71	Nicaragua	64.0		135	Nepal	55.0
	8	Australia	74.0		72	Latvia	64.0		136	Turkmenistan	55.0
	9	Spain	74.0		73	Georgia	64.0		137	Bhutan	55.0
	10	Singapore	73.0		74	Libya	64.0		138	Pakistan	55.0
	11	Israel	73.0		75	Albania	64.0		139	Nauru	55.0
	12	Norway	73.0		76	Jamaica	64.0		140	Yemen	54.0
	13	Monaco	73.0		77	Malaysia	64.0		141	Iraq	54.0
	14	France	73.0		78	Brazil	64.0		142	Haiti	54.0
	15	Netherlands	73.0		79	Paraguay	64.0		143	Laos	54.0
	16	Germany	73.0		80	Viet Nam	64.0		144	Cambodia	53.0
	17	Canada	73.0		81	Ecuador	64.0		145	Guyana	53.0
	18	New Zealand	73.0		82	St. Kitts	64.0		146	Sao Tome	53.0
	19	Ireland	73.0		83	Sri Lanka	63.0		147	Timor-Leste	53.0
	20	Luxembourg	73.0		84	Jordan	63.0		148	Madagascar	52.0
	21	Greece	72.0		85	Mauritius	63.0		149	Gabon	52.0
	22	Finland	72.0		86	Tonga	63.0		150	Marshall Isl.	52.0
	23	Malta	72.0		87	Seychelles	63.0		151	Gambia	51.0
	24	Belgium	72.0		88	Saint Vincent	63.0		152	Mauritania	51.0
	25	Denmark	72.0		89	Lithuania	63.0		153	Togo	51.0
	26	Austria	72.0		90	Dominican Rep	63.0		154	Senegal	51.0
	27	United Kingdom	72.0		91	Syria	63.0		155	Sudan	50.0
	28	Portugal	71.0		92	Thailand	62.0		156	Benin	50.0
	29	South Korea	71.0		93	Philippines	62.0		157	Myanmar	50.0
	30	Slovenia	71.0		94	Lebanon	62.0		158	Ethiopia	50.0
	31	United States	70.0		95	Belarus	62.0		159	Namibia	50.0
	32	Cyprus	70.0		96	Saudi Arabia	62.0		160	Ghana	50.0
	33	Chile	70.0		97	Trinidad/Tob.	62.0		161	Botswana	49.0
	34	Czech Republic	70.0		98	Morocco	62.0		162	Congo	48.0
	35	Kuwait	69.0		99	Honduras	62.0		163	South Africa	48.0
	36	Cuba	69.0		100	Algeria	62.0		164	Kenya	48.0
	37	Costa Rica	69.0		101	Fiji	62.0		165	Guinea	47.0
	38	Croatia	68.0		102	Niue	62.0		166	Cote d Ivoire	47.0
	39	Arab Emirates	68.0		103	Micronesia	62.0		167	Equ. Guinea	46.0
	40	Argentina	67.0		104	Cape Verde	61.0		168	Somalia	45.0
	41	Peru	67.0		105	Grenada	61.0		169	Tanzania	45.0
	42	Bosnia/Herzeg	67.0		106	Iran	61.0		170	Cameroon	45.0
	43	Barbados	67.0		107	Armenia	61.0		171	Rep Of Congo	45.0
	44	Qatar	67.0		108	Vanuatu	61.0		172	Niger	44.0
	45	Panama	67.0		109	El Salvador	61.0		173	Djibouti	43.0
	46	Slovakia	67.0		110	Suriname	61.0		174	Malawi	43.0
	47	Mexico	67.0		111	Samoa	61.0		175	Burkina Faso	43.0
	48	Poland	67.0		112	Moldova	61.0		176	Rwanda	43.0
	49	Uruguay	67.0		113	Belize	60.0		177	Burundi	43.0
	50	Brunei	66.0		114	Egypt	60.0		178	Guinea-Bissau	42.0
	51	Hungary	66.0		115	Ukraine	60.0		179	Uganda	42.0
	52	China	66.0		116	Russia	60.0		180	Mali	42.0
	53	Saint Lucia	66.0		117	Guatemala	60.0		181	Central Africa	42.0
	54	Turkey	66.0		118	Indonesia	60.0		182	Nigeria	42.0
	55	Bulgaria	66.0		119	Uzbekistan	59.0		183	Liberia	41.0
	56	Estonia	66.0		120	Azerbaijan	59.0		184	Mozambique	40.0
	57	Dominica	66.0		121	North Korea	59.0		185	Chad	40.0
	58	Colombia	66.0		122	Solomon Isl.	59.0		186	Lesotho	39.0
	59	Yugoslavia	66.0		123	Kiribati	58.0		187	Zimbabwe	39.0
	60	Venezuela	66.0		124	Mongolia	58.0		188	Angola	38.0
	61	Bahrain	66.0		125	Tuvalu	58.0		189	Zambia	38.0
	62	Antigua/Bar.	66.0		126	Bolivia	58.0		190	Afghanistan	36.0
	63	Tunisia	66.0		127	Tajikistan	57.0		191	Sierra Leone	35.0
	64	Romania	65.0		128	Kyrgyzstan	57.0		192	Swaziland	30.0