Do stressed mothers have heavier children? A meta‐analysis on the relationship between maternal stress and child body mass index

Abstract

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 programs.

Environmental risk factors and nonpharmacological and nonsurgical interventions for obesity: An umbrella review of meta‐analyses of cohort studies and randomized controlled trials

“…As shown in Table , we identified 12 unique meta‐analyses of observational studies investigating associations of risk factors for obesity in children and adolescents, which were derived from 11 unique references, plus one that failed to show any nominally significant (ie P < 0.05) associations of weight gain during pregnancy and obesity during both childhood and adulthood.…”

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the relationship between prenatal stress and metabolic syndrome intermediate phenotypes

“…A recent meta-analysis synthesized results from studies of maternal stress during infancy and childhood, finding higher risk of obesity in children when mothers experienced stress, and children's own experience of stress seemed to exacerbate the association between maternal stress and subsequent higher child obesity risk [62]. Prospective human studies to date also suggest that accelerated infant growth, promoted in part by calorie-rich diets or early overfeeding, may program principal components of the MetS, including obesity, insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease [63,64,65].…”

Prenatal determinants of childhood obesity: a review of risk factors

“…Depending on severity and timing of stress, and sex of the offspring, exposure to maternal psychosocial stress may be positively associated with childhood overweight and obesity (Entringer 2013;Ertel et al 2010;Ingstrup et al 2012). One meta-analysis of 17 studies (Tate et al 2015) found that both in cross-sectional and longitudinal observations, higher levels of prenatal psychological stress were associated with higher risk of childhood obesity. Furthermore, the effect of prenatal stress on offspring obesity may be more evident as the child's age advances (Tate et al 2015).…”

“…One meta-analysis of 17 studies (Tate et al 2015) found that both in cross-sectional and longitudinal observations, higher levels of prenatal psychological stress were associated with higher risk of childhood obesity. Furthermore, the effect of prenatal stress on offspring obesity may be more evident as the child's age advances (Tate et al 2015). For example, The Quebec Ice Storm Study (Liu et al 2016) found dose-response effects between prenatal stress level and the child's BMI and waist-to-height ratio, with the positive associations tending to be more obvious as children become older.…”