Employed Mothers and Family Health
March 18, 2015
IN ALL the public bemoaning of the obesity epidemic in childhood and adolescence, the elephant in the room is almost always ignored. The problem mushroomed with the mass entry of women into the workforce. From a 2014 article by Katherine Bauer analyzing a study that shows a link between maternal employment and poor dietary habits in teens:
Indulging in a bit of wishful thinking, the researchers argue that “efforts such as engaging all family members in meal preparation to alleviate burden on working women could contribute to improvements in family food environments on a population level.”
A less fanciful interpretation of the findings would indicate that Americans should be looking for ways to get back to what they once had—homemaking mothers. It is hard to imagine a healthy nutritional future for the nation’s teens without many more such mothers.
