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Impact of unhealthy childhood and unfavorable parents' characteristics on adiposity in schoolchildren
Author(s) -
Vinciguerra Federica,
Tumminia Andrea,
Roppolo Francesca,
Romeo Luana Catena,
La Spidia,
Baratta Roberto,
Parrino Cristina,
Sciacca Laura,
Vigneri Riccardo,
Frittitta Lucia
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
diabetes/metabolism research and reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.307
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1520-7560
pISSN - 1520-7552
DOI - 10.1002/dmrr.3199
Subject(s) - overweight , waist , medicine , body mass index , obesity , anthropometry , childhood obesity , cohort , demography , odds ratio , screen time , pediatrics , sociology
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.