Important Role of Fathers in Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors
Lizzie Brown-Cordero, March 22nd 2021
We all know that parental involvement is important in a child’s life for so many positive reasons. The biggest reason, is how parental involvement can guide children towards living a healthy lifestyle and adopting positive behaviors. Yet, what is often overlooked is the important role a father figure can play in a child’s life.
Fathers have been shown to be a positive influence in two important lifestyle medicine areas: moving more and eating smarter. Research shows that compared to mothers, fathers tend to engage in more physical activity with their children. Another important fact from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine is that children who have a father who is obese are four times more at risk of being obese at age 18. In order to combat this, parental involvement on the father’s side is strongly encouraged.
Fathers can be agents of behavior change for their children by modeling and engaging in physical activity with them. For example, father figures are more known for “rough and tumble” play. These non-sports related activities can play an effective role in promoting physical activity and weight management in children.
In a more nutritional lens, fathers can promote healthy eating habits through modeling healthy food behviors as well as limiting unhealthy food consumption. Fathers can also model how to eat smarter by cooking and eating at home more often instead of dining at restaurants. Cooking at home can teach children about healthier food options and healthier alternatives to fast food.
Another avenue in which fathers can promote a healthy lifestyle is through indirectly teaching children to socialize. Father-child play has been identified as an important way for children to develop social skills, regulate emotions, and work as a team. Teaching your child how to throw a football can be both a physical activity and social one too! Participating in “rough and tumble” play can also help advance children’s’ social skills and navigate social situations easier.
In summary, both parents are able to provide and model healthy living for their children. Fathers, especially, can play a very substantial role in their child’s development along with the promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Resources
https://vitalrecord.tamhsc.edu/fathers-roles-in-their-childrens-healthly-eating-habits/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6125089/
Transformer Lizzie 🙂
The Transform Lifestyle Medicine Alliance Team
Transformer – Lizzie Brown-Cordero
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