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According to a recent Pew study, women now place a higher importance on having a successful, high-paying career than men do. With the economy still in shambles, more and more women are becoming the sole bread-winners of their households.

In the December issue of Economics and Human Biology, Cornell University health economists note that when it comes to cooking, grocery shopping and playing with children, American moms with full-time jobs spend roughly three-and-half fewer hours per day on these and other chores related to their children's diet and exercise compared to stay-at-home and unemployed mothers.

In contrast male partners with full-time employment devote on average just 13 minutes daily to such activities, while stay at home dad's devote an estimated total of 41 minutes.

Researchers correlate that with nutrition playing second-fiddle to, oh I don't know, feeding your family period, mother's spend less time on their children's nutritional concerns and more time buying pre-packaged food and instant meals; though they stress that fathers must step in and do their part.

"It's inaccurate to pin rising childhood obesity rates on women, given that husbands pick up so little of the slack," cautions lead author John Cawley, professor of policy analysis and management and of economics at Cornell's College of Human Ecology.

Despite these findings Cawley notes that working mother's provide other benefits that supersede any slack on a child's nutrition.  

Working mother's not only provide a second, if not the only, source of income into households, but also provide a role-model for children outside the antiquated, yet oddly timeless model of the stay-at-home mom.

Researchers suggest that parents should educate themselves on the nutritional content of restaurant and prepackaged foods, urging that smart consumer decisions start with such foods having the nutritional and calorie information available to parents.

While, federal health care reform rules will soon require chain and fast-food restaurants nationwide to post calorie counts of the foods they sell, Crawley notes that schools shoulder most of the responsibility when it comes to supporting and maintaining healthy lifestyles for children.

"Our findings underscore the importance of schools offering high-quality foods and physical education classes," he said. "In general, the Institute of Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging comprehensive changes in school environments to promote healthy eating and active living."