Study analyses changes in diet and body weight as we grow older

A team of researchers has conducted a detailed study on how leaving school and getting a job can lead to a drop in the amount of physical activity while becoming a mother is linked to increased weight gain. The study focused on the changes in physical activities, differences in diet and its result in body weight as young adults move from academics to become a parent. As many leave the stage of adolescence, people tend to put on weight, which is a result of changes in diet, and physical activity. The team conducted two studies, which studied the transition from high school into employment, and then that of becoming a parent. The first study found that leaving high school was associated with a decrease of seven minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The decrease was larger for males than it was for females. More detailed analysis also showed that the change is largest when people go to university, with overall levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity falling by 11.4 minutes per day. In the second study, the team looked at the impact of becoming a parent on weight, diet and physical activity. The team who studied the second scenario, changes after becoming a parent, found that a woman of average height (164cm) who had no children gained around 7.5kg over five to six years, while a mother of the same height would gain an additional 1.3kg.