CHICAGO - SymphonyIRI Group Inc. and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) revealed research that found a surprising conclusion: the attitudes and behaviors of families with one or more overweight/obese children differ little from those with all healthy weight children.

"Many myths and misperceptions continue to exist about childhood obesity," said Thom Blischok, global president of Innovation and Strategy for SymphonyIRI, in a press release. "This new research is the first of a series designed to probe into the attitudes, behaviors and rituals within the family that can lead to children becoming overweight or obese. We have found that just a few differences in behaviors can make the difference between the path to overweight and obesity, and that of maintaining healthy weight children."

"Gaining a greater understanding of home behaviors and dynamics is critical to addressing childhood obesity in a holistic manner," added Cathy Polley, FMI vice president of Health and Wellness. "FMI is working to address the issues that lead to childhood obesity and our partnership with SymphonyIRI on this important new research is the latest step in these efforts."

The new research identified five factors that can make the difference between one or more children becoming overweight or obese and all children maintaining healthy weight. These include:

1. Involvement in Purchase Decisions and Food Preparation. Children in healthy weight families tend to be more involved in food purchase decisions (76 percent of healthy weight families versus 72 percent in families with one or more overweight/obese children, including accompanying parents on shopping trips (68 percent versus 64 percent). In addition, parents in healthy weight families are more likely to be involved in preparing and cooking most meals (89 percent versus 82 percent).

2. Healthy Habits Translate to Healthy Weight Children. Households with healthy weight children have fewer rules about eating than those with one or more overweight/obese children (46 percent for healthy weight families versus. 51 percent for families with one or more overweight/obese children). The traditional family adage of "finish what??s on your plate" does not serve children well: just 28 percent of families with healthy weight children apply this rule versus 38 percent for families with at least one overweight or obese child.

3. Play Is Important. The study found that 78 percent of healthy weight children play inside for 30 minutes or more per day, versus just 71 percent of overweight/obese children. Similarly, 84 percent of healthy weight children play outside for 30 minutes or more per day versus 79 percent for overweight/obese children.

4. Attitudes about Healthy Translate to Weight. Parents of healthy weight children place a premium on most activities that lead to healthy weight. These include daily exercise (valued by 92 percent of healthy weight family parents versus 88 percent of parents of one or more overweight/obese children), access to fruit and vegetables in school (89 percent versus 85 percent, respectively) and limiting fast food (86 percent versus 83 percent, respectively).

5. Value of Influencing Key Influencers. Surprisingly, despite the hype about social media, very few parents of healthy weight or overweight/obese children visit these sites for key information. Both types of parents focus primarily on primary care physicians, other medical resources, friends and relatives and health and wellness Web sites, books, magazines and newspapers and nutritionists/dieticians to gain critical information.