Relationship between Children’s Body Mass Index and Parents’ Obesity and Socioeconomic Status: A Multilevel Analysis Applied with Luxembourg Data

Abstract

Obesity in children is a health crisis because the problem is increasing in most developed countries. This study measures the relationship between body mass index (BMI) of children aged 7 -12 years residing in Luxembourg and the weight and socioeconomic status of their parents. The data used are from the 2007 Socio-Economic Panel Liewen zu Lëtzebuerg/European Union-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey, which covers a population of approximately 10,000 people. The study sample includes 775 children whose weight and height were recorded to calculate their BMI. The descriptive analysis with the socioeconomic distribution of the children's BMI and the multilevel logistic regression of the probability to be in overweight or obese were performed. The mean BMI of children was 17.4 kg/m² for boys and girls. The prevalence of overweight was 21.2% (including 3% who were obese). Weight status, educational level, physical activity, and eating habits of parents were associated with BMI in children. Furthermore, children of foreign nationality had 2.9 times more risk to be overweight or obese than other children of Luxembourg nationality (OR = 2.90, 95%CI: 1.38 -6.10). Children living in household with at least one parent who was obese were 6.51 times more likely to be in overweight or obese compared to those in household with both parents normal (OR = 6.51, 95%CI: 2.48 -17.08). Overall, nationality and weight status of parents were the main determinants of children's weight status. Promoting healthy diets and regular physical activity and educating parents on the consequences of overweight and obesity on children's health in adulthood are effective strategies to control overweight and obesity.

Socio-Economic and Environmental Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Children Aged 6–8 Years Living in Five Italian Cities (the MAPEC_LIFE Cohort)

“…This observation is in line with the results of other studies conducted in the United Kingdom [37], Luxembourg [21], and Germany [19], in which this association is explained with reference to the subjects’ ethnicity, the socio-economic level of families with an immigrant background, and the continuation of certain “obesogenic” habits and behaviours. Additionally, in our study, these factors could explain the high prevalence of OW among children with parents born outside Italy.…”

“…Potential risk factors for obesity in early life include genetic factors, lifestyle, and physical, health, and environmental conditions [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20], which can all in turn be influenced by the family context and socio-economic factors [19,21,22]. …”

Parental obesity influence on body mass index of children: a cross sectional study

“…Further, if either of the parents are overweight/obese the odds ratio rose to 3.10 (2.12-4.54). Compared to the present study, higher odds ratio were reported by studies conducted by Tchicaya et al, Ochoa MC et al, Shahin K et al, Zurrigga O et al and Farajain P et al 14,18,9,28,29 We also found weak correlations between parental body mass index and body mass index of their children in both the genders. Similar weak correlations were described by Sangha JK et al, Shahin K et al, Bralic et al, Fuiano N et al and Ochoa MC et al in both males and females.…”

“…7 Various studies have been conducted across the world to find the association between the parental obesity and the obesity in their children. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] But, there exists paucity of data of research in India. Further, the cut off for body mass index in adults used in studies outside India will not be generalizable to our country profile.…”

A comparative study of associated risk factors of overweight in normal and overweight children of 12-16 years of age

“…7 Tchicaya A et al study found children with obese parents have higher mean BMI and it's not related to the sex of the child. 8 Bahreynian M et al found in endocrinal study that males with overweight parents was comparatively 1.7 times more overweight than boys with normal-weight parents. Similarly, female child with overweight parents were more overweight compared to girls with normal-weight parents.…”