| Discouraging reports all over the world describe the | | | | balance of work and family duties become distorted. |
| increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity and the | | | | Children are left alone, without adult supervision or |
| need for something to be done. Weight gain in children | | | | placed in day care because mother's are required to |
| is always a balance of genes and environmental | | | | work longer hours. Many single mothers pay large fees |
| influences including an abundance of high calorie foods | | | | for daycare services. This breakdown in the traditional |
| and drinks and a decrease in physical activity. Many | | | | family is responsible for a lot of fast food eating and |
| factors within the family contribute to overeating in our | | | | eating on -the- run. Even more important is when one |
| children. These include parental education, occupation, | | | | parent goes about sabotaging the efforts of the other. |
| obesity and age, family income, number of siblings, and | | | | - Child's emotional insecurity, parental conflict and |
| parental beliefs and practices. One of the family | | | | departure |
| features that has not been fully explored is the marital | | | | - Unfavorable changes in socioeconomic status |
| status of the parents. | | | | associated with income decline |
| Studies have shown that children who lived with single | | | | - Disruptions in routines and expectations. |
| mothers were significantly more likely to develop | | | | - Conduct disorders, anger, loneliness, lack of self |
| obesity after a 6-year follow-up, compared to those | | | | regulation, depression, anxiety |
| with married parents. Forty years ago, only about 11% | | | | - Parental neglect |
| of children lived in a single parent home. In 2009, 40% | | | | - Dissolution of family eating times, more snacking, |
| of American children were born to single parents. More | | | | eating in front of a TV(Divorce has shown to |
| than 50% of children will live sometime in their childhood | | | | significantly increase TV viewing time) |
| with only a single parent, while 25% end up living with | | | | When mealtimes and snacks are changed from |
| one biological parent and a step parent. The most | | | | day-to-day, the young child who thrives on routine and |
| common type of single-parent family is one that | | | | order, ends confused and are unable to learn to |
| consists of a mother and her biological children. | | | | respond to the normal signals telling him to eat and to |
| In 2002, 16.5 million or 23 percent of all children were | | | | stop eating. All of these family disruptions add up to |
| living with their single mother. When single families are | | | | significant problems with overeating children and teens. |
| mother headed the economic burden is greater. The | | | | |