Medical Monday: keeping tabs on your children

According to the Centers For Disease Control, obesity impacts one out of every five American children. Now, a recent study looks to see how a parent's involvement in their child's life may impact their weight.

Dr. Kasey Goodpaster with Cleveland Clinic explained, "They saw that the relationship between the general monitoring of the parents and various weight-related behaviors, like healthy dietary intake, increased physical activity, and decreased screen time and individuals who had more parental general monitoring were those who had healthier weights."

Researchers found children whose parents were more in-tune with their child's life had healthier weight-related behaviors and spent less time in front of screens. Doctors say the interesting part about the research was that parents didn't have to talk about food or weight behaviors to have this positive effect.

Simply keeping the lines of communication open between parent and child reflected positive weight-behavior for the children. This shows just how important it is for parents to provide an environment for their children that fosters communication.

"Parents should know that providing the nurturing environment is the most important thing that they can do. It's having involvement in their children's lives, communicating, time spent with their children that seems to make a big difference," said Goodpaster.

Doctors say its best for parents to model a healthy relationship with food, health, and overall well-being.