Relationship of parental characteristics and feeding practices to overweight in infants and young children in Beijing, China

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity has become a major public health problem in many countries. To explore the risk factors of overweight in infants and young children might be helpful in developing an early overweight intervention strategy. Objective: To assess the prevalence of overweight and the relationship of parental characteristics and feeding practices to overweight in infants and young children in Beijing, China. Design: Data on weight and length/height were collected on 4654 children aged 1-35 months in twelve communities in Beijing from a cross-sectional study. Overweight was defined as weight-for-length/height $2SD above the median of the WHO reference. Two hundred and fifteen families with overweight children and 215 families with normal-weight children were interviewed using a questionnaire to obtain feeding practices.Results: The overall prevalence of overweight was 4?7 %. Both parental overweight and low parental education were significantly higher among overweight than normal-weight children. The total energy intake was significantly higher in overweight than in normal-weight children at 12-35 months of age. Compared with normal-weight children, significantly fewer overweight children were breastfed for at least 4 months. Overweight children were also more likely to have been introduced to infant formula and semi-solid foods during the first 4 months. Conclusion: Early prevention strategies should include feeding practices identified as putting children at risk of obesity. These include early cessation of breast-feeding and premature introduction of other foods.

Prevalence and risk factors of being overweight or obese among children and adolescents in northeast China

“…Similar findings have been reported from other parts of China (10,36). Parents' genetic and behavior factors are transmitted to their children consciously or unconsciously.…”

Excess weight in preschool children: The role of food intake

“…Hereditary and environmental factors transmitted from the parents to the child may put the child at risk of developing an obesogenic lifestyle 25 .…”

“…The following variables were collected for sample characterization: sex (male and female), child's age (in months), maternal age (in years; <20 and ≥20), family income (per capita family income in percentiles; <P 25 and ≥P 25 ); maternal education level in completed years of formal education (<8 and ≥8), maternal occupation (homemaker/unemployed and employed), beneficiary of governmental cash transfer program (Bolsa Família; yes and no).…”

The Correlates of Body Mass Index and Risk Factors for Being Overweight Among Preschoolers With Motor Delay

“…The predictors of BMI and overweight among preschoolers without disabilities have been examined thoroughly (Jago et al, 2005;Jingxiong et al, 2009;Komiya et al, 2000;Moschonis et al, 2008;Ogden et al, 2002;Oken et al, 2008;Saarilehto et al, 2004;Wang & Lobstein, 2006). However, research investigating the predictors of BMI and overweight in preschoolers with MD is limited.…”

“…The first step for preventing young children with MD from becoming overweight is to understand the potential predictors of overweight, which have not been examined comprehensively among the population with MD. The predictors for overweight among preschoolers without disabilities or chronic conditions are well known, including greater calorie intake (Cason, 2006;Gable, Chang, & Krull, 2007;Dennison, Rockwell, Nichols, & Jenkins, 1999;Jingxionget al, 2009;Saarilehto et al, 2004), not being breastfed (Moschonis, Grammatikaki, & Manios, 2008;Jingxiong et al, 2009), television watching (Gable et al, 2007), less physical activity (Jago, Baranowski, Baranowski, Thompson, & Greaves, 2005), maternal smoking before pregnancy (Moschonis et al, 2008;Oken, Levitan, & Gillman, 2008), parental overweight (Dubois & Girard, 2006;Jingxiong et al, 2009), less sleep (Shi et al, 2010), male sex (Dubois & Girard, 2006;Komiya et al, 2000), maternal complications during pregnancy (Adair, 2008;Dubois & Girard, 2006), and lower socioeconomic status (SES) (Drenowatz et al, 2010;Dubois & Girard, 2006;Jingxiong et al, 2009). These factors may serve as a reference for selecting potential predictors in the current study.…”