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Do stressed mothers have heavier children? A meta‐analysis on the relationship between maternal stress and child body mass index
Author(s) -
Tate E. B.,
Wood W.,
Liao Y.,
Dunton G. F.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12262
Subject(s) - obesity , body mass index , confidence interval , medicine , meta analysis , stressor , childhood obesity , demography , cross sectional study , longitudinal study , clinical psychology , overweight , pathology , sociology
Summary Child obesity continues to be a prevalent public health issue. This meta‐analysis synthesized 17 studies investigating the association between levels of psychological stress experienced by mothers and the body mass index of their children. The overall standardized mean difference effect size was positive and significantly different from zero in cross‐sectional d = 0.20 ( k = 14, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 0.06, 0.34) and longitudinal studies d = 0.18 ( k = 5, 95% CI : 0.00, 0.351) and had significant heterogeneity in both (cross‐sectional, Q [13] = 193.00, P < 0.001; longitudinal, Q [4] = 29.46, P < 0.001). In longitudinal studies, effect sizes were larger when children also would have experienced the stressor, Q (6) = 4.68, P < 0.05, for toddlers than infants, Q (4) = 5.04, P < 0.05, and in higher quality studies, Q (4) = 14.58, P < 0.05. Results highlight the potential benefits of including a parent stress management component in childhood obesity prevention programmes.