Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep;66(3):346-355.
doi: 10.1111/inr.12513. Epub 2019 Apr 23.

Factors influencing obesity among preschoolers: multilevel approach

S H Park  1 , C G Park  2 , J S Bahorski  1 , E Cormier  1
Affiliations

Factors influencing obesity among preschoolers: multilevel approach

S H Park et al. Int Nurs Rev. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is a complex and multifaceted problem involving interactions among child, family and community environment.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the contributing factors to early childhood obesity within a multilevel context, including child and family, childcare setting and community.

Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative research design was employed. A total of 129 preschoolers and their parents in northwest Florida participated in this study. Child height and weight were measured, and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Parents and directors of preschools completed survey questionnaires to assess child/family, childcare setting and community factors, respectively. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to evaluate the association of each level of factors with child BMI z-score.

Results: Twenty-one per cent of children were overweight or obese (≥85th BMI percentile). In hierarchical multiple regression, household income, parent beliefs, attitudes and practices for child feeding, family obesogenic environment, child routines (screen time on weekends, sleep hours, bedtime) and physical activity environment were significantly related to child BMI z-score.

Conclusions: The findings of this study provide a broader understanding of factors that influence child BMI z-score. Shaping a non-obesogenic environment by establishing healthy routines for children in the home, childcare setting and community is essential in childhood obesity prevention.

Implications for nursing practice and health policy: Paediatric nurses should routinely assess accurate parental perception of child weight, feeding style and child routines in well-child care visits. Healthcare professionals and health policymakers should enact policies that build a healthy environment for preschoolers in their childcare setting and community.

Keywords: Childcare; Childhood Obesity; Community; Ecological Systems Theory; Family; Preschoolers.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adams, M.A., et al. (2013) Patterns of neighborhood environment attributes related to physical activity across 11 countries: a latent class analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 10 (34). Available at: https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1479-5868-10-34?site=... (accessed 22 December 2017).
    1. American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education (2011) Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3rd edn. Available at: http://nrckids.org/files/CFOC3_updated_final.pdf (accessed 04 January 2019).
    1. Ang, Y.N., Wee, B.S., Poh, B.K. & Ismail, M.N. (2013) Multifactorial influences of childhood obesity. Current Obesity Reports, 2 (1), 10-22.
    1. Birch, L.L., et al. (2001) Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire: a measure of parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity proness. Appetite, 36 (3), 201-210.
    1. Boonpleng, W., et al. (2013) Ecological influences of early childhood obesity: a multilevel analysis. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 35 (6), 742-759.

LinkOut - more resources