最近又有回顾性分析表明，童年时与母亲情感较淡（a poor emotional relationship with their mother when they were toddlers）的孩子成长至青少年时极易发胖，这一结果进一步论证以往的研究结论，即母亲与孩子之间的情感是否融洽可以显著影响孩子们的体重。事实上，如果考虑到抑郁症或情感紊乱的个体易出现贪食症这一现象，大家就不难理解“为何母子之间情感不够融洽的孩子易发胖”这一事实。总之，在预防肥胖方面，仅仅关注膳食、运动等是不够，还必须注意个体的情绪变化对其体重的影响。更多资讯，请参阅全文。

Mother-Toddler Bond May Influence Teen Obesity

Prevention strategies should go beyond eating, exercise, study suggests

MONDAY, Dec. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Teens are more likely to be obese if they had a poor emotional relationship with their mother when they were toddlers, according to a new study.

The findings echo previous research showing that toddlers who didn't have close emotional ties with their parents were more likely to be obese by the time they were 4.5 years old.

In the latest study, researchers examined U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development data collected from hundreds of families who lived in nine states and had children who were born in 1991.

The analysis showed that the children's risk of obesity at age 15 was highest among those who had the lowest-quality emotional relationship with their mothers when they were toddlers, the Ohio State University researchers said.

More than one-quarter of the toddlers who had the lowest-quality relationships with their mothers were obese as teens, compared with 13 percent of those who had closer bonds with their mothers in their early years, according to the report published online and in the January print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

These and previous findings indicate that the risk of obesity may be affected by areas of the brain that control emotions and stress responses working together with those that control appetite and energy balance, the investigators explained.

The authors suggested that obesity prevention efforts should include strategies to improve the mother-child bond, as well as promoting healthier eating and exercise.

"It is possible that childhood obesity could be influenced by interventions that try to improve the emotional bonds between mothers and children rather than focusing only on children's food intake and activity," lead author Sarah Anderson, an assistant professor of epidemiology, said in an Ohio State University news release.

"The sensitivity a mother displays in interacting with her child may be influenced by factors she can't necessarily control. Societally, we need to think about how we can support better-quality maternal-child relationships, because that could have an impact on child health," Anderson added.

SOURCE: Ohio State University, news release, Dec. 26, 2011