Parents May Harm, Not Help, Heavy Kids

Parents who know their children are overweight may not act in ways that will help, a new study finds. Researchers interviewed the parents of 314 overweight teens. Some described their children as overweight. But they were no more likely than other parents to make healthful changes, such as buying more fruits and vegetables. Instead, the only thing these parents were more likely to do was to encourage their teens to diet. Teens whose parents encouraged dieting were more likely to be overweight when surveyed five years later. The study was published June 2 in the journal Pediatrics.