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Norwegian children and adolescents in blended families are at risk of larger one‐year BMI increments
Author(s) -
Kristiansen Hege,
Roelants Mathieu,
Bjerknes Robert,
Juliusson Petur B.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15019
Subject(s) - medicine , body mass index , norwegian , overweight , logistic regression , demography , odds ratio , sibling , obesity , pediatrics , psychology , developmental psychology , philosophy , linguistics , sociology
Aim To study how sociodemographic factors and family structure associate with baseline BMI z‐scores (BMIz) and BMIz change in 767 Norwegian children aged 6‐15 years. Methods Baseline BMIz and 1‐year BMIz increments in children from the Bergen Growth Study were analysed with linear and logistic regression, according to sociodemographic factors and family structure. A blended family was defined as including a step‐parent and/or half‐sibling. Results In a fully adjusted regression model, baseline BMIz were only significantly associated with maternal BMI (b = 0.087, 95%CI 0.067, 0.107). Body Mass Index z‐scores increments were larger in children living in a blended family (b = 0.060, 95%CI 0.006, 0.115), with a lower parental education (b = 0.127, 95%CI 0.029, 0.226) and with a higher maternal BMI (b = 0.008, 95%CI 0.001, 0.014). The odds for a large BMIz increment (>1 SD) were higher in children living in blended families (OR 1.82, 95%CI 1.16, 2.88) and with higher maternal BMI (OR 1.07, 95%CI 1.01, 1.13) and lower in 9‐11‐year‐old children (OR 0.44, 95%CI 0.26, 0.77) compared with 12‐15‐year‐olds. Conclusion Body Mass Index z‐scores increments were more strongly associated with sociodemographic factors and living in a blended family than baseline BMIz values. BMI z‐scores increments could be useful for identifying children at risk of becoming overweight or obese.