In the home, families can contribute to obesity by sliding into poor eating behaviors, discouraging activity by favoring "push-button entertainment," and selecting the least physically challenging mode of transportation within the community. The table below provides a detailed list of factors that contrbute to obesity.
| Factors contributing to intake | Factors contributing to inactivity |
| • Food preparation techniques that add fat | • TV/computer in bedrooms |
| • Food selections brought into the home: low nutrient density, high fat | • Number of hours watching TV/day |
| • Infrequent family meals | • Hours spent at video games or computer |
| • Child not allowed to decide whether or not to eat | • Inability to walk to/from school |
| • Parent–child feeding relationship | • Poor neighborhood safety |
| • Parent food behaviors and dieting | • Number hours inactive during daily routines |
| • Use of sweetened beverages, sodas/soft drinks | • Access to playmates for TV/video/ computer free-play time |
| • Number of hours watching TV/day | • Access to exercise facilities, playgrounds sidewalks, YMCA |
| • Parent's inability to set limits | |
| • Portion size | |
| • Parent's obesity |
Excerpted From:
Excerpt from Food, Nutrition, and the Young Child, by J. B. Endres, R. E. Rockwell, C. G. Mense, 2004 edition, p. 190.
© ______ 2004, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The reproduction, duplication, or distribution of this material by any means including but not limited to email and blogs is strictly prohibited without the explicit permission of the publisher.
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