New study: parents have less influence on children’s eating behaviors than previously thought; Joint use agreements as a wellness tool

July 2, 2009—A recent study published by the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that parental influences on the eating habits of children and youth may be weaker than previously thought. 

The study found that factors such as the community and school environment, the food environment, peer influences, television viewing, and individual factors such as self-image and self-esteem may be more important in determining children and youth’s eating behaviors than are parental eating behaviors.  These findings point to the importance of influences outside the home on children and youth’s health behaviors, and emphasize the growing importance of addressing other environments and engaging other stakeholders to provide children and youth with opportunities and appropriate models for healthy eating and physical activity.

A great way schools can collaborate with communities to provide students with positive, healthy environments outside the home is to enter into a joint use agreement.  Joint use usually involves two entities (such as a school and a city) sharing facilities such as a gym, pool, or library.  Joint use agreements are an effective, cost-efficient strategy for expanding resource access to students to keep them active and healthy before, during, and after school, and even throughout the summer.

The new California Joint Use Statewide Taskforce website provides information and resources about joint use.  Although the site focuses on joint use in California it provides fact sheets and other useful information about joint use that can be applied anywhere.  For additional information about joint use, including sample joint use policies, visit the National Policy and Legal Analysis Network (NPLAN) website.

Joint use is just one strategy schools can use to improve the food and activity environment for students.  To learn more about physical activity and healthy eating in schools, visit the NSBA School Health Programs website.

Sources: “Parent-child dietary intake resemblance in the United States: Evidence from a large representative survey,” Beydoun MA and Wang Y, 2009; California Joint Use Statewide Taskforce website; NPLAN website.