Study: Mothers Of Young Children Pack On Pounds

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Are you having a struggle with weight loss? Is it difficult to keep those extra pounds from attaching to your hips? Well now you have someone to blame.

According to a study from University of Minnesota, mothers of young children were heavier and ate more calories, fatty foods and sugary drinks than women without children. In addition, both parents were less active than those of the same age without children.

The study was not a small one. There were over 1,500 adults with children younger than five. According to the report, which is in today's Journal Pediatrics, the mothers in this study with young children had a diet so poor that they would have to walk more than three miles a day to not gain a pound.

The authors of this study suggest that parents with young children trying to take them outside and spend time exercising with them. Some ideas are going for walks with children in a stroller or playing games that increased levels of activity for both the child and parents. The hope is to reverse bad habits not only for mom and dad but for children as well.

Reported by Dr. Brian McDonough, KYW Newsradio