Podcast: Study shows diet talk and behaviour passes down through generations

In this podcast Tabitha Farrar talks to Jerica Berge about a new study illistrating how diet talk and encouragement to diet can be passed down through generations Parent Encouragement to Diet From Adolescence Into Adulthood May Cause Intergenerational Harm Study: http://www.practiceupdate.com/content/parent-encouragement-to-diet-from-adolescence-into-adulthood-may-cause-intergenerational-harm/65474

In this longitudinal study 556 adolescents were surveyed when in school and again after 15 years in adulthood and/or parenthood to evaluate the association between parental encouragement to diet in adolescence and health outcomes in adult life. Significant association was observed between parent encouragement to diet in adolescence and an increased risk of overweight or obesity, dieting, binge eating, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and lower body satisfaction in adulthood. In addition, the authors noted an intergenerational transmission of encouragement to diet in the home environment.

Clinicians should inform parents about the potentially harmful and enduring outcomes associated with encouraging their children to diet.

Jerica M. Berge, Ph.D., MPH, LMFT, CFLE is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Berge is both a behavioral medicine clinician and researcher. Dr. Berge is a licensed mental health therapist and supervisor who specializes in integrated care and community-based partnerships to address family health issues. She has developed and evaluated several family-focused models of care within family medicine clinics including, group prenatal care for high risk pregnant mothers, integrated care clinic, and childhood obesity prevention and treatment interventions via well-child visits. Dr. Berge is one of the most cited authors on family dynamics and childhood health with over 100 publications and book chapters and 300 presentations. She has an impressive funding trajectory including K12, R21, R03, R56, and R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health.