Association of parents' nutritional status, and sociodemographic and dietary factors with overweight/obesity in schoolchildren 7 to 14 years old

Abstract

To assess the association of parents' nutritional status, and dietary and sociodemographic factors with overweight/obesity in schoolchildren in Florianópolis Island, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, this cross-sectional epidemiological study examined 2,826 schoolchildren 7 to 14 years old, classified according to body mass index curves for age and sex recommended by the International Obesity Task Force. Data were analyzed using Poisson regression. The final model showed overweight/obesity in boys associated directly with father's educational level, mother's age, and parents' nutritional status, and inversely with mother's educational level, and number of daily meals. Among girls, it associated directly with parents' nutritional status and the schoolchildren's age, and inversely with consumption of risk foods. The variables that associated with overweight/obesity differed between the sexes, except parents' nutritional status. Boys and girls with both parents overweight or obese were, respectively, 80% and 150% more likely to exhibit the same diagnosis, indicating the need for interventions that include the family environment.

Excesso de peso em adolescentes e estado nutricional dos pais: uma revisão sistemática

“…The average score obtained using the STROBE protocol was 17, with a maximum of 19.3 8,18 and a minimum of 15 19 (Chart 1).…”

“…The majority of the studies were carried out in the United States 21,22 , Greece 18,19 and Brazil 8,23 and all were published in the period between 2004 and 2013 8,18,19,[21][22][23][24] . The sample sizes ranged from 914 23 to 9571 22 individuals and, of the studies selected, two are prospective cohort studies 18,21 , while all the others are cross-sectional studies 8,19,[22][23][24] .…”

“…The sample sizes ranged from 914 23 to 9571 22 individuals and, of the studies selected, two are prospective cohort studies 18,21 , while all the others are cross-sectional studies 8,19,[22][23][24] . The studies included members of both sexes in similar proportions, with the exception of one which was carried out in Iran and involved only female adolescents (Chart 1) 25 .…”

“…The prevalence of obesity and overweight varied according to the geographic region in which the study was developed. A greater prevalence of overweight was found in the studies carried out in Brazil 8,23 and in Greece 18,19 , while the research carried out in the United States found the prevalence of obesity to be greater 21,23 . The lowest prevalence of obesity was found in a prospective cohort in Greece 18 .…”

“…This association also involves genetic factors, since children of obese parents have a considerably greater risk of becoming obese and of adopting inadequate behaviors such as poor dietary habits that are passed down through generations [7][8][9] . Thus, this study seeks to verify the association between overweight among adolescents and the nutritional status of their parents, in order to identify possible determining factors.…”