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Anyone who has ever worn hand-me-downs, shared a bathroom, or survived a long car trip with a brother or sister knows that siblings can influence your life in almost every way. I know.

But researchers are just beginning to understand how these relationships affect health.

“This is kind of an untapped area,” said Dr. Susan B. Sisson, a professor of nutritional science at Oklahoma Health Sciences University in Oklahoma City who studies the relationship between siblings and health. But research suggests sibling power, or lack thereof.

There is evidence to suggest that siblings have a “pretty strong influence” on health behaviors related to obesity, physical activity and nutrition, Sisson said.

Research can be difficult. First of all, “families are pretty complicated,” Sisson says. Siblings may be related by birth, adoption, or step-parenting.

“It’s very difficult to make blanket statements about sibling relationships and influence because there are so many factors that need to be considered,” said Dr. Keith Vakafatu Ossai, assistant professor of child and family studies at Weber State University. talk. Ogden, Utah.

But there’s no denying that siblings play a powerful role in shaping each other, said Ossai, who conducted his own research on how siblings influence decisions about whether to play youth sports. Stated.

“We usually say this is the most long-lasting relationship of all relationships,” he said. “We’re with our parents when we’re born, and usually our siblings are there too.” Spouses and lovers may come and go, but siblings are still there. . “Then our parents passed away, but our siblings are still there,” he said.

Here are some of the associations researchers have found between siblings and various health factors.

how we eat

Sisson was a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior in 2019 that compared the habits of 43 children, siblings, and 27 only children. They found that young children with siblings ate healthier diets than children without siblings.

“Some of it is probably just a surrogate for busy parents,” she says. For example, parents may be able to afford fast food more if they have one child than if they have multiple children. Also, households with multiple children tend to have more family meals, which can lead to healthier diets, she said.

In fact, a 2017 study published in the journal Social Science and Medicine found that children with more siblings eat healthier diets and watch less television. The study found that each additional sibling was associated with a 2.6 percentage point decrease in the likelihood of obesity in early adolescence. In other analyses, having siblings is associated with lower obesity than those without siblings.

However, this is not always the case. In a study of 326 families with two adolescent siblings, sibling conflict was associated with an increased risk of being overweight during adolescence. The study, published in 2014 in the journal Family Relations, found that the correlation was highest for brother-younger and older-brother-sister relationships, and lowest for younger-sister relationships.

how we move

Children with siblings have higher levels of physical activity than only children, Sisson said. An analysis of her previous research, which she helped author, suggested that children with more siblings are more active.

Another study of 161 children in kindergartens in Portugal, published in Children in 2021, found that children in families with siblings tended to have better motor skills than children without siblings. .

Sisson said siblings can be “built-in playmates.” Parents may want to let their child go out to play if they have an older brother or sister to watch over them, and if the child can walk home, the parent may want to allow the child to return home. It may be more likely, she suggested. Not alone but in pairs.

Of course, genes play a big role in fitness as well as obesity, she says. “But genetics don’t necessarily influence whether someone will kick the ball back to you.”

Then there are the chores. “As families grow, so does the amount of work that needs to be done at home,” Sisson said, adding that parents are more likely to delegate that work.

Ossai’s own research on youth sports found that siblings who have warm relationships with their older siblings are more likely to pursue their sports interests. He knows that from his personal life too.

“My brothers really helped shape the way I approach sports and physical activity,” Ossai said. He was the youngest of eight children, four boys and four girls, and the oldest was 17 years old when he was born.

His brothers were his first unofficial coaches, he said. On the street, in the backyard, in the park, in the church gym, “They were the first to teach me how to catch a ball and how to shoot.” The sisters, whose son is a youth soccer player, said Ossai was a passionate player. When he saw that he wanted to participate in the competition, he brought up the idea to his parents, who drove him to the practice range and cheered him on. He ended up playing all the way to junior college.

risks we take

Siblings influence our choices regarding delinquency and risky behaviors such as smoking, drug and alcohol use, Ossai said. Siblings who are closer in age and biological sex are more likely to follow an older sibling who engages in risky behavior because they feel more socially connected or have a warmer relationship, he said. .

mental health

Research shows that siblings can influence us for better or worse.

A study published in the Journal of Family Issues in December looked at data from about 9,400 eighth graders in China and 9,100 in the United States and found that having more siblings was associated with poorer mental health. It turned out that there was.

The Harvard Adult Development Study, which has followed two groups of men since 1939, found that poor relationships with siblings before age 20 are associated with risk of major depression in adulthood.

Meanwhile, a 2021 study of Latina women in Southern California published in the journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health found that having sisters and communicating more frequently with siblings were associated with higher pregnancy rates. It was said that it was associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms.

And a study published in the Journal of Family Psychology in 2019 found that among older adults, warmer relationships with siblings are associated with lower levels of loneliness.

Given all the ways siblings can affect health, what should someone do? Sisson suggested it’s important for parents to recognize the role siblings and family members play. .

She urges parents to “do what you can, when you can, to encourage shared family meals, healthy eating, healthy food choices, limited screen time, and more movement.” I recommend it. Parents of only children may want to be especially conscious of creating family mealtimes and opportunities for active play.

Given the lifelong influence siblings can have, it’s important to foster sibling relationships, Ossai says.

“It’s an intimate relationship,” he said. Siblings can be allies who share secrets, but they can also cause a lot of hurt. So “leaving room for forgiveness” and taking an interest in each other’s activities can pay off over time, he said.

Osai acknowledges that sibling relationships are fraught with conflict, competition and jealousy. However, he recognizes the support he received from his brothers and how it contributed to his success both in and out of athletics.

“Sibling relationships can be tough sometimes,” he says. “But these relationships are very warm and very beneficial in many ways.”