Maternal and Paternal Distress in Early Childhood and Child Adiposity Trajectories: Evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study

Objective The current study investigated associations between mothers’ and fathers’ distress reported in early childhood (at ages 9 months and 3 years) and childhood adiposity trajectories from ages 5 to 14 years. Methods Linear mixed‐effects models were undertaken in the Millennium Cohort Study. Self‐reported maternal and paternal distress was measured at ages 9 months and 3 years. BMI and fat mass index (FMI) were modeled from ages 5 to 14 years, adjusting for socioeconomic and child characteristics and stratifying by child sex. Results Maternal distress reported at 9 months was associated with steeper increases in BMI and FMI trajectories for girls (BMI: β = 0.06; 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.11; FMI: β = 0.04; 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.08). Paternal distress reported at 9 months was associated with steeper increases in BMI and FMI for both girls (BMI: β = 0.06; 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.12, FMI: β = 0.05; 95% CI: −0.02 to 0.10) and boys (BMI: β = 0.09; 95% CI:  0.03 to 0.15, FMI: β = 0.06; 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.10). Maternal “moderate” distress at 3 years was associated with steeper BMI and FMI trajectories for girls only (BMI: β = 0.08; 95% CI: 0.03 to 0.12, FMI; β = 0.06; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.10). Conclusions Maternal and paternal distress experienced in early childhood, particularly during infancy, was associated with steeper adiposity trajectories for children from ages 5 to 14 years.