Australian parents are more stressed and strung out than ever, and it’s not only impacting our own mental and physical wellbeing but perhaps that of our kids as well. Research conveyed in the Health of Queenslanders report suggests parental stress is contributing to poor childhood health behaviours and increases in childhood obesity.
A parent’s level of perceived stress is determined by their perception of the demands placed on them and of their capability to handle these stressors. Which means the same things that cause one person stress may be different to those that impact someone else. Unsurprisingly, common issues that can increase stress levels include things like long work hours, financial insecurity and lack of social support.
Socioeconomic factors in particular can impact a parent’s stress levels and affect their ability to control their home environment and promote healthy behaviours in their children. Ultimately, women of low socioeconomic status report higher levels of stress and their children have worse eating habits and higher rates of obesity.
Research shows that children of stressed parents tend to eat more unhealthy food, engage in less exercise, and be more likely to be overweight or obese. This is likely due to the difficulties of managing children’s behaviour when stressed. For instance, parents have reported that stress, fatigue or a lack of time made them less inclined to prepare home cooked meals and more likely to turn to fast food. This is supported by associations between parents’ stress and permissive parenting practices, which include things like giving into children’s demands for unhealthy food. Additionally, stressed parents are more likely to engage in dysregulated eating behaviours, such as emotional eating. These behaviours can then be passed onto children, explaining the higher rates of overeating and emotional eating among children of stressed parents.
Current interventions to address childhood obesity often try to improve diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour through education and behavioural therapy. However, there isn’t much evidence that these programs have consistent or sustainable benefits and many programs report issues with adherence. The programs are often more successful if they include social supports or mindfulness-based parent stress interventions.
If we were to make structural changes to reduce our stress levels, what would it look like?
Research indicates that stress levels can be reduced through things like a Universal Basic Income, a 4 day work week and higher levels of social support, particularly for single parents and those in lower socioeconomic areas.
We can also make healthy choices easier for stressed parents. While a child surrounded by fast food restaurants and junk food advertisements is bound to want them, someone growing up in a safe neighbourhood with a lot of green space will be able to play outside, and have more exercise.
There are huge benefits to be gained from restricting advertisements, improving healthy food availability, and increasing neighbourhood walkability and access to green space. These environmental changes can reduce parents stress levels and allow them to promote healthy behaviours even when they are stressed.