Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

Associations between toddlers’ and parents’ BMI, in relation to family socio-demography: a cross-sectional study

Authors: Marie Lindkvist, Anneli Ivarsson, Sven Arne Silfverdal, Eva Eurenius

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2015

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

It is well established that the pregnancy and the first years of life are important for future childhood health and body weight. Even though current evidence suggests that both parents are important for childhood health, the influence that parents’ BMI and socio-demography has on toddlers’ BMI has so far received little attention. This study aimed to increase our knowledge on the association between toddlers’ and parents’ BMI, in relation to family socio-demography. Further, the aim was to investigate the interaction between the mothers’ and fathers’ BMI in relation to their child’s BMI.

Methods

A total of 697 children with a median age of 18 months (range 16-24 months) participated in the study along with their mothers (n = 697) and fathers (n = 674). As regards representability, our parental sample had a lower proportion of immigrants and the parents were more gainfully employed compared to parents in the rest of Sweden (when the child was 18 months old). The parents completed a questionnaire on parental and child health. Data on parental weight, height, and socio-demographics were recorded along with the child’s weight and height measured at an ordinary child health care visit. We used the thresholds for children’s BMI that were recommended for surveillance by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in 2012 based on the WHO reference population.

Results

Among the toddlers, 33 % had a BMI above the WHO 85th percentile and 14 % had a BMI above the WHO 95th percentile. The probability of a toddler having a BMI above the WHO 95th percentile was significantly increased if either the mother or father was overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2). Furthermore, we found a positive synergistic effect between the mother and father being overweight and their child having a BMI above the WHO 85th percentile. No associations were found between the toddlers’ BMI and the family’s socio-demographics, but there were associations between the parents’ BMI and the family’s socio-demographics.

Conclusion

High BMI is common even in toddlers in this population. The risk increases if one parent is overweight, and it increases even more if both parents are overweight. The results in this study confirm the importance of considering familial risk factors when examining child health and BMI at ordinary child health care visits already at an early age.
Literature
1.
World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2000;894:i – xii, 1–253.
2.
Swinburn BA, Sacks G, Hall KD, McPherson K, Finegood DT, Moodie ML, et al. The global obesity pandemic: shaped by global drivers and local environments. Lancet. 2011;378(9793):804–14.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Edvardsson K, Lindkvist M, Eurenius E, Mogren I, Small R, Ivarsson A. A population-based study of overweight and obesity in expectant parents: socio-demographic patterns and within-couple associations. BMC Public Health. 2013;13(1):923.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
4.
Eurenius E, Lindkvist M, Sundqvist M, Ivarsson A, Mogren I. Maternal and paternal self-rated health and BMI in relation to lifestyle in early pregnancy: the Salut Programme in Sweden. Scand J Public Health. 2011;39(7):730–41.CrossRefPubMed
5.
6.
Bergström E, Blomquist HKS. Is the prevalence of overweight and obesity declining among 4-year-old Swedish children? Acta Paediatr Oslo Nor 1992. 2009;98(12):1956–8.
7.
Weng SF, Redsell SA, Swift JA, Yang M, Glazebrook CP. Systematic review and meta-analyses of risk factors for childhood overweight identifiable during infancy. Arch Dis Child. 2012;97(12):1019–26.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
8.
Druet C, Stettler N, Sharp S, Simmons RK, Cooper C, Smith GD, et al. Prediction of childhood obesity by infancy weight gain: an individual-level meta-analysis. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2012;26(1):19–26.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Stocks T, Renders CM, Bulk-Bunschoten AMW, Hirasing RA, van Buuren S, Seidell JC. Body size and growth in 0- to 4-year-old children and the relation to body size in primary school age. Obes Rev Off J Int Assoc Study Obes. 2011;12(8):637–52.CrossRef
10.
Andersen LG, Holst C, Michaelsen KF, Baker JL, Sørensen TIA. Weight and weight gain during early infancy predict childhood obesity: a case-cohort study. Int J Obes 2005. 2012;36(10):1306–11.
11.
Jensen SM, Ritz C, Ejlerskov KT, Mølgaard C, Michaelsen KF. Infant BMI peak, breastfeeding, and body composition at age 3 y. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;101(2):319–25.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Baird J, Fisher D, Lucas P, Kleijnen J, Roberts H, Law C. Being big or growing fast: systematic review of size and growth in infancy and later obesity. BMJ. 2005;331(7522):929.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
13.
Monteiro POA, Victora CG. Rapid growth in infancy and childhood and obesity in later life—a systematic review. Obes Rev Off J Int Assoc Study Obes. 2005;6(2):143–54.CrossRef
14.
Whitaker RC, Wright JA, Pepe MS, Seidel KD, Dietz WH. Predicting obesity in young adulthood from childhood and parental obesity. N Engl J Med. 1997;337(13):869–73.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Ohlund I, Hernell O, Hörnell A, Stenlund H, Lind T. BMI at 4 years of age is associated with previous and current protein intake and with paternal BMI. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010;64(2):138–45.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Coneus K, Spiess CK. The intergenerational transmission of health in early childhood—evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel study. Econ Hum Biol. 2012;10(1):89–97.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Freeman E, Fletcher R, Collins CE, Morgan PJ, Burrows T, Callister R. Preventing and treating childhood obesity: time to target fathers. Int J Obes 2005. 2012;36(1):12–5.
18.
Orsi CM, Hale DE, Lynch JL. Pediatric obesity epidemiology. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2011;18(1):14–22.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Flores G, Lin H. Factors predicting overweight in US kindergartners. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;97(6):1178–87.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Blomquist HK, Bergström E. Obesity in 4-year-old children more prevalent in girls and in municipalities with a low socioeconomic level. Acta Paediatr Oslo Nor 1992. 2007;96(1):113–6.
21.
Edvardsson K, Garvare R, Ivarsson A, Eurenius E, Mogren I, Nyström ME. Sustainable practice change: professionals’ experiences with a multisectoral child health promotion programme in Sweden. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011;11:61.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
22.
Edvardsson K, Ivarsson A, Garvare R, Eurenius E, Lindkvist M, Mogren I, et al. Improving child health promotion practices in multiple sectors - outcomes of the Swedish Salut Programme. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:920.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
Dinsdale H, Ridler C, Ells L. A simple guide to classifying body mass index in children. Oxford: National Obesity Observatory; 2011.
24.
WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group. WHO Child Growth Standards based on length/height, weight and age. Acta Paediatr Oslo Nor 1992 Suppl. 2006;450:76–85.
25.
26.
27.
Knol MJ, VanderWeele TJ, Groenwold RHH, Klungel OH, Rovers MM, Grobbee DE. Estimating measures of interaction on an additive scale for preventive exposures. Eur J Epidemiol. 2011;26(6):433–8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Rolland-Cachera MF. Childhood obesity: current definitions and recommendations for their use. Int J Pediatr Obes IJPO Off J Int Assoc Study Obes. 2011;6(5-6):325–31.CrossRef
29.
Monasta L, Lobstein T, Cole TJ, Vignerová J, Cattaneo A. Defining overweight and obesity in pre-school children: IOTF reference or WHO standard? Obes Rev Off J Int Assoc Study Obes. 2011;12(4):295–300.CrossRef
30.
Ahrens W, Pigeot I, Pohlabeln H, De Henauw S, Lissner L, Molnár D, et al. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in European children below the age of 10. Int J Obes. 2014;38(S2):S99–107.CrossRef
31.
Larsen LM, Hertel NT, Mølgaard C, Christensen R, Husby S, Jarbøl DE. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Danish preschool children over a 10-year period: a study of two birth cohorts in general practice. Acta Paediatr. 2012;101(2):201–7.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Cole TJ. Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. BMJ. 2000;320(7244):1240–0.
33.
Thorén A, Werner B, Lundholm C, Bråbäck L, Silfverdal S-A. A rapid growth rate in early childhood is a risk factor for becoming overweight in late adolescence. Acta Paediatr. 2015;104(11):1138-43.
34.
McCrindle BW. Cardiovascular consequences of childhood obesity. Can J Cardiol. 2015;31(2):124–30.CrossRefPubMed
35.
Wickham EP, DeBoer MD. Evaluation and Treatment of Severe Obesity in Childhood. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2015;0009922814565886.
36.
Peirson L, Fitzpatrick-Lewis D, Morrison K, Warren R, Ali MU, Raina P. Treatment of overweight and obesity in children and youth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Can Med Assoc Open Access J. 2015;3(1):E35–46.
37.
Endevelt R, Elkayam O, Cohen R, Peled R, Tal-Pony L, Grunwald RM, et al. An intensive family intervention clinic for reducing childhood obesity. J Am Board Fam Med. 2014;27(3):321–8.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Kader M, Sundblom E, Elinder LS. Effectiveness of universal parental support interventions addressing children’s dietary habits, physical activity and bodyweight: A systematic review. Prev Med. 2015;77:52–67.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Murrin CM, Kelly GE, Tremblay RE, Kelleher CC. Body mass index and height over three generations: evidence from the Lifeways cross-generational cohort study. BMC Public Health. 2012;12(1):81.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
40.
Pillas D, Marmot M, Naicker K, Goldblatt P, Morrison J, Pikhart H. Social inequalities in early childhood health and development: a European-wide systematic review. Pediatr Res. 2014;76(5):418–24.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Victora CG, Wagstaff A, Schellenberg JA, Gwatkin D, Claeson M, Habicht JP. Applying an equity lens to child health and mortality: more of the same is not enough. Lancet. 2003;362(9379):233–41.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Connor Gorber S, Tremblay M, Moher D, Gorber B. A comparison of direct vs. self-report measures for assessing height, weight and body mass index: a systematic review. Obes Rev Off J Int Assoc Study Obes. 2007;8(4):307–26.CrossRef
43.
Marmot M, Friel S, Bell R, Houweling TA, Taylor S. Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Lancet. 2008;372(9650):1661–9.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Associations between toddlers’ and parents’ BMI, in relation to family socio-demography: a cross-sectional study
Authors
Marie Lindkvist
Anneli Ivarsson
Sven Arne Silfverdal
Eva Eurenius
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2602-8

Other articles of this Issue 1/2015

BMC Public Health 1/2015 Go to the issue

Research article

Tuberculosis risk factors among tuberculosis patients in Kampala, Uganda: implications for tuberculosis control

Research article

Determinants of underweight, stunting and wasting among schoolchildren

Research article

Men report good mental health 20 to 23 years after in vitro fertilisation treatment

Research article

Can opportunities be enhanced for vaccinating children in home visiting programs? A population-based cohort study

Research article

Associations between psychological distress and the most concerning present personal problems among working-age men in Japan

Research article

Public response to the 2014 chemical spill in West Virginia: knowledge, opinions and behaviours