How Kids Can Impact Weight Gain

As a single mother, Carla Lipscomb admits there's never enough time in the day to do everything.

But, she has a few priorities: her 11-year old son, Caleb, her work as a Duke laboratory technologist and fitness. In between work and ensuring Caleb gets dinner and finishes schoolwork, she spends at least an hour each day at home on her treadmill or exercise glider. She also gets to the gym or runs steps at Wallace Wade Stadium when possible.

Lipscomb found her motivation for an active lifestyle last summer when she weighed nearly 200 pounds and had to go on blood pressure medication. Her son, who has attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, saw his school grades drop. It was time, Lipscomb said, to reevaluate and get priorities in order.

"I never realized blood pressure could impact my weight, stress and life as much as it can," said Lipscomb, who works at Duke's Clinical Coagulation Laboratory. "I looked at my life and thought `I have to reverse this.' "

Recent studies by Duke University Medical Center researchers show that managing weight and a family can be difficult, with each child increasing obesity risk for fathers by 4 percent and 7 percent for mothers. 

"Kids take time," said Dr. Truls Ostbye, a professor of community and family medicine at Duke. "Parents who may have been very disciplined before children now find they have less time to prepare healthy foods, less time for physical activity and overall less time for themselves."

At Duke, faculty and staff have access to a variety of free health programs through LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke's employee wellness program. Programs like Pathways to Change connect participants with health coaches to help track and monitor diet and exercise. There are also free fitness and nutrition consultations and exercise programs like the Run/Walk Club.

"We know it's not easy finding ways to get fitness into your day, but that's why we've got programs to help people find ways to be active and as healthy as possible," said Liz Grabosky, fitness manager with LIVE FOR LIFE. "We can offer help at any time - before during or after work."

Lipscomb, who joined Duke's Run/Walk Club, has lost about 30 pounds since last year through exercise and a diet with more fruits, vegetables and water.

She found bike riding as a new way to balance family life and fitness. This spring, she bought a pair of bikes for her and Caleb, and they plan to ride together on the American Tobacco Trail.

"Caleb never really rode that much, but he loves it now," Lipscomb said. "It's just a matter of staying active and we'll do it together."