It’s probably more the rule than the exception.

You have a child or two or three and once each bundle of joy arrives, you do your best to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. You might even get there.

Then, as they get taller you notice you’re getting wider here and there. It turns out you’re not alone and the kids may be at fault!

Researchers from the University of Minnesota recently published a study of 1,520 adults aged 25 on average, including parents with children younger than 5 years old. What they found explains the extra pounds.

Women with children ate an average of 368 more calories per day than those who were childless. 368 doesn’t sound like much, but if you’re not also burning the extra calories, they add up to an extra pound of padding per week. Moms also had a higher body-mass index (BMI) than non-moms.

Where do the extra calories come from? Not from carrot sticks and celery. Moms, on average, ate more fatty foods. They also drank seven sugar-filled drinks each week versus four for non-moms.

Here is an article about the study. Here is the summary of the study.

Given the often hectic lives of moms, especially those who work outside the home, it’s probably not surprising they have much less time to spend preparing meals and opt for the quick and easy.

How has having children affected your eating habits or the habits of women you know?

Is there more of you to love today than there was before you had your first child and if so, does it bother you? Or are you like the woman in the linked article who lost half of the weight she gained during pregnancy but doesn’t care about the rest?

By the way, fathers in the study ate roughly the same number of calories as non-fathers but got about 30% less exercise which should have made them fatter. Yet both groups had the same average BMI, which may serve as further evidence that the Creator is a guy .

Share or Bookmark