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To assess risk factors of childhood obesity, we carried out a case-control study in ten kindergartens in Changsha, the capital city in the Chinese province of Hunan, between July 1 and December 31, 2007. Height and weight measurements were obtained from annual physical examinations for children attending these kindergartens. Obesity was defined according to the International Obesity Task Force cutoff for body mass index (BMI). For each obese child, one child with normal BMI, matched by kindergarten class, sex, age (within 3 months), and height (within 3 cm) were chosen as controls. The parents of the study subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire about their children, including perinatal factors, infant feeding, and current lifestyle factors. Univariate analysis was performed first to compare the distribution of risk factors between cases and controls. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to assess independent risk factors of childhood obesity. A total of 162 subjects (81 pairs of cases and controls) were included in the final analysis. The results showed that the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for childhood obesity were 8.88 (2.41-32.70), 5.23 (1.24-22.04), 10.96 (2.08-21.64), and 6.72 (1.55-29.12), respectively, for macrosomia, cesarean delivery, early solid foods initiation (<4 months), and fetal musical education. We conclude that macrosomia, cesarean delivery, early initiation of solid foods, and fetal musical education are associated with increased risk of obesity in preschool children in urban China.

Misconceptions about a child's weight status were prevalent among parents and grandparents, and boys' weight status was more frequently underestimated than girls. The disparity of underestimating weight according to sex may partially contribute to the difference in the prevalence of obesity/overweight between boys and girls among Chinese school children.

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Background Parental involvement in mobile health (mHealth) to consult with medical professionals appears to be prevalent in China with the rapid development of the internet. More parents with busy jobs have chosen to use mHealth. During the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, mHealth can assist with health promotion, directions for medication use, and disease diagnosis via online chat and video consultation without contacting others. To our knowledge, no studies have been performed to explore the role of mHealth in parents’ attitudes toward child health care at home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Objective This study aims to identify the associated factors of willingness to adopt mHealth among Chinese parents during the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore the correlation between the frequency of adopting mHealth and parents’ attitudes toward child health care at home. Methods Chinese parents were asked to complete an online survey from January 25 to February 15, 2020. The questionnaire comprised of two parts with a total of 16 items, including parents’ demographic variables and attitudes toward child health care at home. By multivariate logistic regression, we explored factors associated with parents’ willingness to adopt mHealth during the COVID-19 outbreak. Pearson chi-square tests were used to reveal the correlation between the frequency of adopting mHealth and parents’ attitudes toward child health care at home. Results A total of 254 parents enrolled, and 202 (79.5%) parents were willing to adopt mHealth during the COVID-19 outbreak. Parents’ age (26-35 years: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 8.114, 95% CI 1.471-44.764), parents’ interest in the COVID-19 pandemic (moderate: AOR 8.753, 95% CI 2.009-38.127; high: AOR 22.194, 95% CI 5.509-89.411), the source that recommended mHealth (medical health providers: AOR 4.257, 95% CI 1.439-12.596), the presence of chronic disease in their children (yes: AOR 20.844, 95% CI 4.600-94.443), parents’ duration of daily internet use (4-6 hours: AOR 6.487, 95% CI 1.870-22.495; >6 hours: AOR 8.766, 95% CI 1.883-40.804), and adoption of mHealth before the COVID-19 outbreak (yes: AOR 3.413, 95% CI 1.234-9.444) were significantly correlated with the parents’ willingness to adopt mHealth during the COVID-19 outbreak. The frequency of mHealth use among parents was correlated with their behaviors in regard to handwashing (χ26=18.967, P=.004), mask wearing (χ26=45.364, P<.001), frequency of leaving the home (χ26=16.767, P=.01), room disinfection and ventilation (χ26=19.515, P=.003), temperature checking (χ26=17.47, P=.007), and mental health care of children (χ26=63.810, P<.001) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions We found various objective factors that were associated with parents’ willingness to adopt mHealth during the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall, parents’ willingness to adopt mHealth was high. The frequency of mHealth use among parents was correlated with their attitudes toward child health care at home. The option of mHealth to patients at home during the COVID-19 outbreak would be beneficial for education and improvement in self-management of child health care at home.