Children whose mothers work outside the home eat fewer fruits and vegetables, drink more sugary beverages between meals and get less exercise than moms who have never been employed, new British research shows.

Dads weren't included in the study, which was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, because the authors said their working patterns have changed relatively little in recent decades.

But about 60 percent of women in the U.K and U.S. are now working after having children, according to the researchers with Britain's Institute of Child Health. This means mothers may have less time to make sure their children eat right, exercise and don't spend too much time in front of the computer or television.

Studies that link working moms to obesity - this is not the first--always feel unfair. Never mind that most women don't have a choice in the matter. Working moms and stay-at-home moms are always pitted against one another, as if one situation is better than the other.

The question I'm always left with is: What about the dads, who never seem to be included in these studies? Why are working moms primarily responsible for their children's health?

In a recent column, Chicago Tribune business reporter Greg Burns noted that "in the U.S., the unemployment rate for men is running 2.7 percentage points higher than for women -- a 'just unprecedented' spread," according to economist Mark Perry at the University of Michigan at Flint.

Moreover, "In the coming decade, the wage gap will narrow as more women enter high-paying fields and reduce the time away from their careers for child-rearing and other family commitments, predicted Ohio State professor Claudia Buchmann, who studies gender disparity in education," Burns wrote.

With more men home and possibly acting as primary caregivers, let's stop laying all the guilt on working moms.

Instead, we need to help both parents eat right and exercise so they can set good examples and embrace healthy habits. We need schools and daycare centers to start serving healthy food, not sabotaging a parent's efforts. We need help fighting the food industry, which markets junk food such as Froot Loops as a "Smart Choice."

And as the study authors say, the results don't show moms shouldn't work. They show families need a little help.

"Our results highlight the need for policies and programs to help support parents," said lead author Catherine Law.