BOSTON -- Almost all young kids throw temper tantrums -- some more than others. For parents, they can be rattling, ear-piercing and embarrassing. They could have far-reaching consequences for kids.

Video

Report On Tantrums, Obesity RESOURCES Does Your Child Have Temper Tantrums? What Is A Temper Tantrum? Places To Get Help How To Handle Temper Tantrums

Television station WCVB reported that tantrums vary dramatically from child to child. For some, the whining, screaming and breath-holding behavior is occasional.

"I guess we're having the TTs as we call them -- the terrible twos," mother Vita Norton said. "Thankfully, he hasn't done this in a public place."

But for other children, it's chronic.

A new long-term study in the journal Pediatrics found a link between persistent tantrums and childhood obesity.

The study followed 150 kids from birth to age 9 and found that 2- to 5-year-olds who threw persistent tantrums were three times more likely to be overweight.

The authors speculate that parents use food to quiet their kids, causing them to gain weight.

"Your first instinct is that you just want to quiet the child down and give them anything to make them happy, but it's probably the worst thing you can do because it just feeds into the pattern and reinforces the bad behavior," Newton Wellesley Hospital's Dr. Eileen Kramer said.

To handle children's tantrums, try using distractions, like a toy, she said. If it's a fit over food, offer something healthy, like fruits and vegetables.

"If they tantrum, let them tantrum. If they're in a safe place you can say, 'That's OK. I understand you want this. You can't have it. Let me know when you're done with your tantrum.' And you can walk away from them," Kramer said.

It's working for Norton.

"We kind of let him do his thing, and when he calms down we take it from there and usually he calms down. It's been quick," Norton said.

Remember that tantrums are normal, and kids eventually outgrow them. Avoid silencing them with sweets, say the experts, and you may help prevent a lifetime of problems.