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. 2019 Nov;35(8):e3199.
doi: 10.1002/dmrr.3199. Epub 2019 Jul 18.

Impact of unhealthy childhood and unfavorable parents' characteristics on adiposity in schoolchildren

Federica Vinciguerra  1 , Andrea Tumminia  1 , Francesca Roppolo  1 , Luana Catena Romeo  1 , Nadia La Spina  1 , Roberto Baratta  2 , Cristina Parrino  3 , Laura Sciacca  1   2 , Riccardo Vigneri  4 , Lucia Frittitta  1   2
Affiliations

Impact of unhealthy childhood and unfavorable parents' characteristics on adiposity in schoolchildren

Federica Vinciguerra et al. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity is encouraged by low physical activity (PA), time spent using screens (screen time, ST), and by sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (SSBc). It is also influenced by unfavorable parents' characteristics, such as a high body mass index (BMI) and low education level (EL). Our aim was to evaluate the overall and specific influence of these factors on childhood adiposity.

Material and methods: Anthropometric parameters including BMI z-score, waist circumference (WC), waist to height ratio (WtHR), and fat mass were measured in a cohort of 1702 schoolchildren (6.0-14.5 years, mean 10.7 ± 1.8) and questionnaires concerning children's PA, ST, and SSBc, and parent's BMI and EL were administered to parents.

Results: Overweight/obesity prevalence was higher (P < .0001) in males (57%) than in females (43%). Less physically active children (28.9%) had a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity and higher BMI z-score, WC, WtHR, and fat mass relative to more physically active children (P < .05). PA was negatively associated with the BMI z-score (r = 0.18, P < .0001) and fat mass percentage (r = 0.18, P < .0001). Children with more ST had higher WC and WtHR than non-ST viewers (P < .05) but not BMI. Moreover, SSBc did not influence the anthropometric parameters. At multivariate analysis, male gender, less PA, and parental risk factors (parent's overweight/obesity and low/medium EL) were independently associated with overweight and obesity among childhood with a progressively increasing odds ratio (1.65, 1.40, and 1.80, respectively).

Conclusions: Male gender, behavioral risk factors (particularly low PA), and parent's characteristics are important correlates of obesity in children.

Keywords: childhood obesity; parental risk factors; unhealthy habits.

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References

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