Valencia, Negros Oriental – We often hear “they are a diet-conscious family”. This is because children eat or drink what their parents give them. A family of diabetic people may have this sickness because all are just eating or drinking what is customarily offered at the table by the elders, whether grandparents or parents.

According to Savage, J. et. al. (2007), parents have an influence on children’s eating behavior because they are the ones preparing food for them. It further explained that during the early years, children’s learning about food plays a big role in future food choices. This is true now that children become unhealthy due to too much inexpensive palatable energy-dense food that caused overeating and weight gain. In addition, because of scarcity, feeding children with unhealthy food became only a trend. In contrast, those who can afford to buy food in third-world countries also eat fast food and ready-to-eat foods.

Moreover, leaving children under the supervision of other people, for instance, babysitters can greatly have an impact on children’s eating habits. Obesity in America for instance is a complex condition both by environmental and genetic functions. These are measured using a growth chart and adjusted BMI cut-off points. Genes define the likelihood of becoming overweight due to poor food choices. Even the start, new research sheds light on how at a younger age, parents are very influential in the eating behavior of their children. In addition, in order to control body weight, parents tend to stop children from eating tasty food. This in turn has an opposite effect because there might be a tendency for these children to not follow rules and eat what has been prohibited from them. ND II Nina Estela Lindsay Romero, RND