Babies Benefit When Mothers Are Taught Healthy Eating Habits

A four-year study involving 667 first-time Australian mothers and their infants has found that a series of eight home-based nutrition education “interventions” – essentially visits by specially trained nurses – reduced the average body mass index of children by age two. The study was undertaken to see if there are practical ways to reduce the rate of childhood obesity, which among Australian children aged 2-3 years has reached 20 percent. The interventions also improved children’s vegetable consumption, reduced the practice of giving food as reward and reduced TV viewing time. Participating mothers increased their vegetable consumption and physical activity.