Set family patterns might cut down on obesity, according to a new study

Researchers found that children who have certain meal times and a strict screen and bed schedule are more likely to have a healthy weight and a strong mental state.

A new study advises preschoolers’ parents to do three simple things for their kids: regulate their meals, bedtime and screen time. This way, the kids’ emotional health is improved and the possibility to get obese is reduced drastically.

The study was published in the International Journey for Obesity. It managed to find a link between the early, preschool routines and the ability of very young children to learn how to self-adjust their feelings and deal later on with issues such as weight gain and obesity, according to US News.

Children who had “emotional dysregulation” were more likely to deal with obesity later in life. In order to determine emotional self-regulation in kids, the reasearchers observed the responses from parents to questions regarding how easily their offspring became frustrated or over-excited. The kids who didn’t manage to self-adjust their emotions had greater emotional dysregulation.

The study found that preschoolers with better self-regulated emotional health (which is backed up by regular bedtimes, meals and restricted screen time) seem to benefit from better emotional and physical health in the long run, while those with emotional dysregulation are more likely to become obese.

“This study provides more evidence that routines for preschool-aged children are associated with their healthy development and could reduce the likelihood that these children will be obese,” said the lead author, Sarah Anderson, a professor at Ohio State’s College of Public Health.

Almost 11,000 kids were observed during the study. Their activities and health outcomes were analyzed for over a decade. It has been found that at age 3, 41% of kids always had a regular bedtime, 47% had a regular mealtime schedule and 23% had their screen time (TV and videos) restricted to less than one hour a day.

Researchers think that regular bedtime schedule might be the most important routine for kids. An absence of a regular preschool bedtime schedule was proved to be a predictor of obesity at 11.

“Sleep is so important and it’s important for children in particular. Although there is much that remains unknown about how sleep impacts metabolism, research is increasingly finding connections between obesity and poor sleep,” Anderson said.

The study may not prove that family routines will prevent obesity later, but there is still enough evidence to suggest that there are plenty of benefits.

“Recommending regular bedtime routines is unlikely to cause harm,” Anderson said, “and may help children in other ways, such as through emotion regulation.”