Infants cared for by parents who smoke are more likely to become obese children than those from a nonsmoking household, according to a health ministry report.
According to the report, released Wednesday, the obesity rate for 13-year-olds who were exposed to secondhand smoke when they were 6 months old was 2 to 3 points higher than those from smoke-free homes.
The ministry said there was a "statistically significant difference" in the obesity rate between the two groups. But a causal relationship between passive smoking and larger waistlines remains difficult to confirm, as other factors the ministry didn't eliminate when analyzing the data could be at play, the report said.