New Delhi, Aug 11 (UNI) Kids who were kind, helpful, and caring were more likely to eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables when they became teenagers, says a new study that followed children from ages 5 to 17.
The researchers analysed data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative study that followed children born in the United Kingdom for over 20 years, starting at birth. Parents reported how their children behaved at ages 5, 7, and 11. Then, the researchers checked if those children ate healthy foods at ages 14 and 17.
The findings in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine were heartwarming.
“Too often, we focus on what is going wrong in young people’s lives, but what we hear from them time and time again is that they are tired of that narrative. They want us adults to pay more attention to what is going right, including what they bring to their families and communities,” said lead investigator Farah Qureshi, Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Another researcher, Senior author Julia K. Boehm, PhD, Department of Psychology, Chapman University, added, “Prosocial behaviours, such as being considerate of others’ feelings, sharing, helping if someone is hurt or upset, being kind, and volunteering to help others, can influence health by strengthening children’s social ties and improving psychological functioning by promoting better mood, purpose, feelings of competence, and enhanced capacity to cope with stress.
“All of these, in turn, serve as resources that may inform health-related choices, as is evidenced by our latest findings.”
The study followed many children over time and looked at many different factors. Even with some limitations, the findings revealed that being kind and caring is a helpful trait that can lead to healthier habits for life.
Co-author Laura D. Kubzansky, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who leads a novel research programme on the long-term health impact of prosociality pointed out, “Asset-based interventions can open the door to new and creative health promotion strategies that engage youth in ways that speak to their inherent strengths, including shared values around kindness and cooperation. Supporting prosociality in childhood may be a promising health promotion strategy for future consideration.”
Dr. Qureshi concluded that in times when empathy is undervalued, kindness and compassion are powerful tools for everyone’s well-being. Teaching kids to be caring can help both them and society as a whole.
