Long Working Hours for Mothers
Linked to Children's Health Risks
A study has found that if a mother works more than 53 hours per week, the risk of abdominal obesity in her children more than doubles.
According to the medical community on May 26, a research team led by Professor Park Hoonki of the Department of Family Medicine at Hanyang University Hospital analyzed data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016?2020) and found this correlation between metabolic syndrome in 2,598 children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 and their mothers' working hours.
Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, below-standard blood levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, and excessive triglycerides occur simultaneously.
In this study, metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents was diagnosed when abdominal obesity and at least two of the other four symptoms were present.
The mothers' working hours were categorized as not working, 1?19 hours per week, 20?39 hours per week, 40?52 hours per week, and 53 hours or more per week. The researchers then compared and analyzed whether the children had risk factors for metabolic syndrome. Under the current Labor Standards Act, the legal working hours are 40 hours per week, with a maximum extension to 52 hours per week.
The results showed that children whose mothers worked 53 hours or more per week had a 2.27 times higher risk of abdominal obesity compared to those whose mothers did not work. The risk of metabolic syndrome was 1.93 times higher, but this was not statistically significant. In particular, for girls, the risk of metabolic syndrome was 6.07 times higher when their mothers worked 53 hours or more per week.
The research team estimated that as mothers' working hours increase, the time spent with their children naturally decreases, which negatively affects the formation of healthy eating habits and physical activity in the children.
Previous international studies have also observed a tendency for children's body mass index (BMI) to increase as mothers' working hours increase.
Professor Park stated, "We confirmed the association that the longer a mother works, the higher the likelihood that her child will develop metabolic syndrome." He added, "However, further research, such as long-term follow-up studies, is needed to determine the specific causal relationship."
The results of the study were published in 'KJFM' (The Korean Journal of Family Medicine), the English-language international journal of the Korean Academy of Family Medicine.
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