Mothers eat more, exercise less: Blame the kids?

(CBS/AP) Blame the kids? New research shows that children may be responsible for new mothers' weight problems and bad eating habits.

It showed that mothers of young children weighed more and ate more calories, sugary drinks and fatty foods than childless women. Dads and moms in the study were less active than their peers without kids.

Sheri Lee Schearer, 34, says the finding reflect her life with a 5-month-old. Before, when she worked as a paralegal, she had time to make a spinach salad or go out for one. Now, as a stay-at-home mom in New Jersey, she grabs whatever is fast and easy.

"I often find that his needs come before mine," she said. "Do I get to the gym? No. Do I eat always healthy? No."

Quick, easily prepared foods are often high in fat and calories. Parents who choose these foods may end up serving them to their children, perpetuating a cycle of unhealthy eating, the study authors said.

"This isn't a study about blame," said co-author Jerica Berge, a University of Minnesota researcher. "This is about identifying ... a very high-risk time period" for parents that doctors should be aware of so they can offer solutions, she said.

That may include diet advice, parent-child exercise classes, or just getting parents to take walks with their kids, the researchers said.

The study involved 1,520 adults aged 25 on average, including parents with kids under five years of age. They were among more than 4,000 Minneapolis-area public school students enrolled in a study in their teens; the new study includes those who responded to two follow-up health surveys and answered questions about their diet and activity.

The study was published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Moms ate more fatty foods and drank about seven sugary drinks weekly, versus about four for childless women. Moms also consumed an average of 2,360 calories daily, 368 calories more than women without children.

With that many calories, women that age would need to be active to avoid gaining weight. But mothers got on average a little more than two hours of at least moderate activity weekly, versus three hours weekly among childless women. Mothers had a slightly higher average body-mass index than childless women - 27 versus 26. Healthy BMIs are in the 19-24 range.

Dads ate about the same number of calories as childless men and both had an average BMI of about 25, but fathers got less physical activity - about five hours a week, compared to almost seven for childless men.