Excessive body weight of children and adolescents in the spotlight of their parents’ overweight and obesity, physical activity, and screen time

Abstract

Objectives The main aim of this study was to bridge the research gap in the countries of Central Europe using the family dyad approach to examine the associations of parents’ overweight/obesity, physical activity (PA), and screen time (ST) with excessive body weight in their offspring. Methods The cross-sectional study included 1101 parent–child dyads (648/453 mother/father–child aged 4–16) selected by two-stage stratified random sampling with complete data on body weight categories, weekly PA (Yamax pedometer), ST (family logbook) collected over a regular school/working week during the spring and autumn seasons between 2013 and 2019. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify which of parents’ lifestyle indicators were associated with the overweight/obesity of their offspring. Results The mother’s overweight/obesity significantly increases her children’s odds of overweight/obesity. Concerning fathers, active participation in organized leisure-time PA and reaching 10,000 steps per day significantly reduce the odds of overweight/obesity in their children and adolescent offspring. Conclusions The cumulative effect of parental participation in organized leisure-time PA with their own family-related PA can be a natural means of preventing the development of overweight/obesity in their offspring.

The Relationship between Obesity and Physical Activity of Children in the Spotlight of Their Parents’ Excessive Body Weight

“…Children, regardless of gender, are more likely to be obese if their mother is overweight/obese. In Czechia [ 23 ], as well as the surrounding European countries [ 50 ] and on a global scale [ 24 ], the prevalence of youth obesity is increasing, especially for families with low and medium socioeconomic status [ 23 , 50 ]. Therefore, from a public health perspective, it is necessary to look for and make visible the existing correlates reducing the chance of childhood obesity in everyday real life.…”

“…The method used to select the respondents has been described in detail in previous studies [ 18 , 23 ]. Participants were recruited by means of a two-stage stratified random sampling.…”

“…In the first stage, nine out of 14 administrative regions, three of each in the lowest, middle, and highest terciles for gross domestic product in Czechia, were randomly selected. In the second stage, seven public kindergartens located in urban areas and three in rural locations were selected, while there were 36 public primary schools located in urban areas and 15 in rural locations which were randomly selected [ 23 ]. A total of 3540 families were addressed in writing with an invitation to participate in the cross-sectional study, of whom 65.3% agreed to take part in the research (written informed consent received).…”

“…The BMI was computed as the body weight (kg) divided by body height (m) squared. In accordance with previous studies [ 18 , 23 , 46 ], the age-specific cut-off points were used to define the prevalence of overweight/obesity [ 34 , 35 ]. Overweight or obesity in children represents a BMI from the 85th to 97th percentile or greater than the 97th percentile of the WHO growth charts [ 34 , 35 ].…”

“…Children who have one obese parent have an increased risk of being overweight or obese [ 19 , 20 ], which is exacerbated if both parents become overweight/obese [ 21 , 22 ]. Although the findings are inconsistent, children with more physically active parents appear to be less likely to be overweight and obese [ 13 , 23 ]. The relationships between the bodyweight levels of parents and their offspring have been examined with regard to different family correlates (gender, age, level of education, PA, screen time, and employment of parents [ 19 , 21 , 22 , 23 ], socioeconomic status, and structure or income of the family [ 13 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]), but rarely with regard to children’s participation in OLTPA [ 23 ].…”