MONDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Children who regularly
attend daycare are more likely to be overweight than those who
stay at home with a parent, but the reasons for this difference
are unknown, according to a new study. Canadian researchers
looked at more than 1,600 families in Quebec with children born
in 1997 or 1998. Mothers were interviewed about the care of
their children at one and a half, two and a half, three and a
half and four years of age. "We found that children whose
primary-care arrangement between one and a half and four years
was in a daycare center or with an extended family member were
around 50 percent more likely to be overweight or obese between
the ages of 4 and 10 years compared to those cared for at home
by their parents," study leader Dr. Marie-Claude Geoffroy said
in a University of Montreal news release. "This difference
cannot be explained by known risk factors such as socioeconomic
status of the parents, breastfeeding, body-mass index of the
mother or employment status of the