A child's ability to control the urge to eat a treat can somewhat predict his character and his way of being in adulthood. In that same sense, a recent study indicates that Children able to resist a sweet have less risk of obesity in adulthood.
The research is based on what is known as the candy test conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1960s to measure impulse control in four-year-olds. It consisted of leaving a child with a jelly bean on a table, promising that if he did not eat it, on his return in 20 minutes he would give him two jelly beans and leave the room.
It is difficult to know what we would have done ourselves with four years in the face of that situation, or our children, but it is clear that for a young child it is very difficult to handle self-control.
According to the results of that study, children who were able to wait for the reward turned out to be more competent, responsible, self-confident, sociable and more prepared adolescents to face the frustrations of life.
On the other hand, those who had not been able to control the impulse and ate the jelly beans early, were generally more problematic, indecisive, insecure and less able to handle difficult situations.
Now, transferring the experiment to a person's chances of being obese, scientists from the University of Wiscosin focused on weight gain in adulthood.
Upon reaching those children participating in the study at age 30, the researchers observed their body mass index (BMI) and found that for every minute that the children could delay the gratification of their desires, it corresponded to a 0.2 point reduction in your BMI in adulthood.
It is evident that children able to resist a sweet, that is to say with greater capacity of self-control of its impulses, have less risk of obesity in adulthood They are better prepared to handle their own temptations.
The interesting thing is that, in conclusion, helping children improve their self-control could contribute to reducing the risk of being overweight, as well as becoming more resolute, self-confident, and ultimately, happier (although I don't think that self-control is always synonymous with happiness).
