You face a common problem. It is often the case that someone in the family believes that diet and physical activity are important, yet another does not. It sounds like your wife is in this stage. Your wife gets motivated on occasion, but then the motivation disappears, perhaps because she does not experience success, the allure of food is too strong, or other reasons. It may help your wife get started, or once she gets started on her own, may teach her skills to keep going.
Children respond in interesting ways to what they see in parents.
This is due in part to the environment. It can be pretty hard helping kids be healthy even when both parents are positive models, but when one is not, it is easy for kids to slip into fast foods and sitting around. Kelly D. Brownell, PhD, is an internationally known expert on eating disorders, obesity, and body weight regulation. All rights reserved. Before you submit a question, please keep in mind that our experts receive hu ndreds of queries every day, so yours may not be answered directly.