Keeping Children Active Is More To Do With Parenting Than TV

More proof that bad parenting is to blame for fat kids. This is a form of nutritional child abuse.

Researchers at Oregon State University have confirmed what we knew all along - children in this country are increasingly sedentary, spending too much time sitting and looking at electronic screens.

But it's not necessarily because of the newest gee-whiz gadgets - parents play a major factor in whether young children are on the move.

In two studies released online in a special issue of the journal Early Child Development and Care devoted to "Parental Influences of Childhood Obesity," OSU researchers examined how parenting style - whether a strict but loving parent or a less-involved and more permissive parent - was associated with sedentary behavior.

Overall, they found that children who had "neglectful" parents, or ones who weren't home often and self-reported spending less time with their kids, were getting 30 minutes more screen time on an average each week day.

Stop the nutritional child abuse.