Our attitude to food to set by the time we're 10-years-old.
Photo / Thinkstock
Our attitude to food to set by the time we're 10-years-old.
Photo / Thinkstock
If you struggle to lose weight or say no to an extra helping of pudding, don't blame your lack of willpower - blame your parents.
A person's attitude towards food and exercise is largely set by the tender age of ten, a study finds.
Healthy eating habits become engrained inchildhood, according to Newcastle University researcher Heather Brown. This means that's the best time for parents, schools and governments to intervene.
Dr Brown says our attitudes towards even the simplest things - like whether to eat breakfast everyday - may be decided by the time we are ten.
She studied hundreds of pairs of siblings in America and concluded that variable factors, like if they lived near parks, only made a difference to weight when they were younger.
By the time they are older, their attitudes are set and those factors had little effect," Dr Brown says.
"Parents are important role models. If they have an unhealthy lifestyle then their children are more likely to emulate their behaviour into adulthood."
