Just one more study to add fuel to the media-created “mommy wars� fire.
A study out of the UK says that mothers who work outside the home have better health than stay-at-home moms.
After analyzing data from a study that tracked the health of Britons born in 1946, they found that women who had multiple roles were less likely than homemakers, single mothers or childless females to report poor health or to be obese in middle age."Women who occupied multiple roles over the long term reported relatively good health at age 54," said Dr Anne McMunn, of University College London.
"It looks like women are relatively healthy as a result of combining work and family life."
The study found that women who reported being “homemakers� most of their lives were the most likely to report poor health and to be overweight.
I’m sorry, but did this study just say that stay-at-home moms are fat? Harsh.
I’m not surprised by the conclusions of the study--seems to me that having a lot of interests would be better for your health mentally and physically. But the report seems to bash stay-at-home moms; you can’t tell me that just because a woman doesn’t have a job outside of the home that she doesn’t juggle “multiple roles.�
The study is published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, so check it out for yourself.
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But the report seems to bash stay-at-home moms; you can’t tell me that just because a woman doesn’t have a job outside of the home that she doesn’t juggle “multiple roles.�
Well, by that standard, it bashes childless women too; we also have multiple roles. But I don't see anything particularly wrong with the article's wording.
From my mum and other former homemakers I've known I'm lead to believe that it is often the isolation of childrearing at home that can make you eat more. I'm sure that if I worked at home I'd run the risk of putting on weight too....
This is one of those studies that's very chicken-and-eggy -- higher income and more educational opportunities correlate so strongly with being able to afford better and more nutritious food that to my mind the job outside the home might be more like a result of the education/opportunities than a cause of the health. Like you said, the mental stimulation and feeling of empowerment is also likely a big factor.
chicken & egg indeed....
"It looks like women are relatively healthy as a result of combining work and family life."
or, just as likely from the data presented....
It looks like women are able to combine work and family as a result of being healthly.
I agree with Kay. The better health of working mothers is as likely to the be result of having more money as it is to be something inherent in having a job. The article doesn't give enough information about how the study chose its participants for me to make an informed decision. The best sort of study would compare women from, say, the same college graduation class to see how that worked out. Otherwise, all I can say from this is that more money buys better health.
I would think a lot of it depends on the type of job you have. I know for me, my eating is actually a lot healthier right now (I'm on maternity leave for a few weeks before my son is born) than it is while I'm at the office. However, I have an active two year old to chase after and I am trying to make sure we both eat as healthy as possible. When I am at the office (I have a pretty stationary desk job that I don't really enjoy anymore) I tend to do a lot of snacking out of the vending machine, because it's quick and easy and I can eat at my desk and still get my work done. For me, I think being home, being less stressed and playing with my very active daughter keeps me in better shape. Back when I had a job I really enjoyed where I was on my feet and doing a lot more travel, meetings and less access to vending machines, I would say I was in better shape working than I would have been home. Karen and Kay make a great point about the money factor too... the more money you have, the better quality food you can afford, the more time you can afford to spend on exercise equipment, etc... and the better shape you can be in. It seems like there are a lot more factors than just whether or not a mom has a job outside of the home or not.
you know why that makes no sense Kay? Because it is often the poorest mothers who have to work. single mothers, women who are married with deadbeat husbands.
That was the whole minority argument against the Feminine Mystique. Poor and minority women never had the luxury of even making the choice to stay home.
I think working mums are great. Jr can bring his teenage girlfriends home and get busy on moms, single mother bed, while she is at her dead end job trying to pay the rent, she might have had paid, if she actually spent the child support money on a roof, instead of cocktails and video poker.
"From my mum and other former homemakers I've known I'm lead to believe that it is often the isolation of childrearing at home that can make you eat more. I'm sure that if I worked at home I'd run the risk of putting on weight too...."
Having been both a stay at home full time sort of mother and a working mother, I agree completely with the above. It was interesting to me that the article did not once reference depression, which, in my experience, stay at home mothers are MUCH more at risk for than moms working outside the home. I was much less healthy for the majority of the years I was at home, mainly because of the isolation and depression that I think being at home full time brought on. Depression, of course, leads to a number of health risks.
That was the whole minority argument against the Feminine Mystique. Poor and minority women never had the luxury of even making the choice to stay home.
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