你的兄弟姐妹和你的健康可能有惊人的联系

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任何穿过旧衣服的人, shared a bathroom or survived a long car trip with a brother or a sister knows that siblings can affect your life in nearly every way possible.

Researchers, however, are just starting to unspool the ways those relationships affect health.

“这是一个欠发达的地区，”他说. Susan B. Sisson, a professor of nutritional sciences at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences in Oklahoma City who has studied sibling-health connections. 但研究暗示了兄弟姐妹的力量——或者他们的缺席.

Evidence suggests that siblings have "a pretty strong influence" on health behaviors related to obesity, 体育活动, 营养及其他, Sisson说.

这项研究可能具有挑战性. 首先，“家庭是相当复杂的，”西森说. 兄弟姐妹可以通过出生、收养或继父母联系在一起.

"It's really tough to make any kind of blanket statement about sibling relationships and influence, 因为有太多的因素需要考虑,”医生说。. Keith Vakafatu Osai, 奥格登韦伯州立大学儿童与家庭研究助理教授, 犹他州.

但是Osai自己的研究着眼于兄弟姐妹之间是如何相互影响的 决定参加青少年运动她说，不可否认的是，兄弟姐妹在影响彼此的过程中发挥着强大的作用.

"We typically say that this is the most enduring relationship, out of all relationships," 他说. “我们出生时和父母在一起，但我们的兄弟姐妹通常也在父母身边。. 配偶和其他重要的人可能来来去去，但兄弟姐妹仍然在那里. “然后我们的父母去世了，”他说，“但我们的兄弟姐妹还在那里."

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

我们怎么吃

Sisson是一个 研究, 发表在2019年的《线上娱乐电子游戏网站》上, 他们比较了43个有兄弟姐妹的孩子和27个独生子女的习惯. It showed that young children with siblings ate healthier diets than children with no siblings.

她说:“其中一些可能只是父母忙碌的表现。. It might be easier for parents to afford fast food with one child than with several, for example. 有多个孩子的家庭往往会有更多的家庭聚餐, 她说, 哪些与健康饮食有关.

的确, 兄弟姐妹多的孩子 饮食更健康，少看电视, 2017年发表在《线上电子游戏飞禽走兽》上的一项研究显示, 该研究发现，每增加一个兄弟姐妹，寿命就会下降2.青少年早期肥胖的可能性降低6个百分点. 其他 分析 also have associated having siblings with lower levels of obesity than in people with no siblings.

但情况并非总是如此. A 研究 that looked at 326 families with two adolescent siblings linked sibling conflict with an increased risk of being overweight as an adolescent. 这项研究发表于2014年 家庭关系, the correlation was highest in brother-brother and older brother-younger sister relationships and lowest in sister-sister relationships.

我们如何移动

Children with siblings have higher levels of 体育活动 than only children, Sisson说. An 前人研究分析 她参与撰写的研究表明，兄弟姐妹更多的孩子更活跃.

A 独立研究 对葡萄牙一所幼儿园的161名儿童进行了调查, 发表在2021年的《线上娱乐电子游戏网站》杂志上, found that children in homes with siblings tended to have higher motor skills than children without siblings.

兄弟姐妹可以是“天生的玩伴，”西森说. A parent might be more willing to send a child outside to play if they have an older brother or sister to keep an eye on them, 她建议, or children might be more likely to be allowed to walk home if they can do so as a pair rather than alone.

她说，当然，基因对健康和肥胖都起着重要作用. "But genetics doesn't necessarily influence whether or not you have somebody to kick the ball back to you."

然后还有家务. “当家里的人越来越多的时候, 家里有更多的工作要做,西森说, 更有可能的是，父母会把这项工作委托给别人.

Osai's own research into youth sports has found that siblings who have warm relationships with older siblings tend to follow their interest in sports. 他从自己的个人生活中也知道这一点.

"My siblings really helped to shape the way that I engaged with sport and 体育活动,Osai说。. He's the youngest of eight – four boys and four girls, the oldest of whom was 17 when he was born.

他说，他的兄弟们是他的第一批非官方教练. 在街上, 在后院, 在公园和教堂体育馆, “他们是第一个教我如何接球的人, 如何投篮.“当一个姐姐带着一个踢青少年足球的儿子看到Osai渴望加入时, 她把这个想法告诉了他们的父母, 然后开车送他去训练，为他加油. 最后，他一直打到大专.

我们所冒的风险

兄弟姐妹会影响我们在犯罪和危险行为方面的选择, 比如吸烟、吸毒和酗酒, Osai说. Siblings who are similar in terms of age or biological sex feel more socially connected or report warmer relationships, 并且更有可能跟随从事危险行为的哥哥姐姐, 他说.

心理健康

研究表明，兄弟姐妹对我们的影响是好是坏.

去年12月发表在《线上娱乐电子游戏网站》杂志上的一项研究 家庭问题杂志 该研究调查了中国约9400名八年级学生和美国约9100名八年级学生的数据.S. 兄弟姐妹越多，心理健康状况越差.

哈佛成人发展研究 从1939年开始追踪两组男性, linked poorer relationships with siblings before age 20 to the risk of major depression in adulthood.

另一方面，一项关于南加州拉丁裔女性的研究发表于 2021年的进化、医学和公共卫生, said that having sisters and more frequent communication with siblings was associated with fewer depressive symptoms during pregnancy.

And a 研究 published in the Journal of Family Psychology in 2019 found that among older adults, a 与兄弟姐妹关系融洽 与较低的孤独感有关吗.

考虑到兄弟姐妹影响健康的所有潜在方式，人们应该怎么做? 西森建议家长们这样做, 意识到兄弟姐妹和家庭所扮演的角色是很重要的.

她鼓励父母“在可能的时候尽你所能促进家庭聚餐。, 健康饮食, 健康的食物选择, 少看屏幕，多运动." Parents of only children might want to be extra conscious of family mealtimes or creating opportunities for active play.

考虑到兄弟姐妹可能带来的终生影响, Osai说, 培养兄弟姐妹之间的关系很重要.

“这是一种亲密的关系，”他说. 兄弟姐妹可以是分享秘密的盟友，但他们也会造成很多伤害. So "leaving room for forgiveness" and taking an interest in one another's activities can pay off over time, 他说.

Osai acknowledges that sibling relationships can be filled with conflict, rivalry and jealousy. But he recognizes the support he received from his siblings and how it contributed to the success he has had both in and out of athletics.

“兄弟姐妹关系有时会很艰难，”他说. “但这些关系在很多方面都是非常温暖和有益的."