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Relationships between weight status and child, parent and community characteristics in preschool children

Rachel A Jones1, Anthony D Okely, Parriel Gregory

  • 1Child Obesity Research Centre, Faculty of Education, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW, Australia. rachelj@uow.edu.au

International Journal of Pediatric Obesity : IJPO : an Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
|July 9, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Overweight preschoolers spent more time in quiet play and watching TV. Few differences were found in child, parent, or community factors, though overweight children had more footpath access.

Area of Science:

  • Childhood obesity research
  • Pediatric public health
  • Ecological Systems Theory

Background:

  • Childhood overweight is a growing public health concern.
  • Understanding contributing factors is crucial for intervention.
  • Preschool years are a critical period for development and habit formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate relationships between preschool children's weight status and child, parent, and community factors.
  • To apply an Ecological Systems Theoretical framework to analyze these relationships.
  • To identify potential risk factors for childhood overweight.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 140 preschool children and their parents from 11 randomly selected preschools.
  • Assessed variables including motor development, physical activity, screen time, and community resources (parks, footpaths).
  • Utilized objectively measured physical activity and parental reports on rules and environment.

Main Results:

  • Overweight children engaged in less active play and more quiet play and television viewing.
  • No significant differences in perceived competence or motor development between overweight and non-overweight children.
  • Overweight children reported greater access to footpaths (p=0.046), but other parent/community associations were not significant.

Conclusions:

  • Limited differences observed between overweight and non-overweight preschoolers across most child, parent, and community variables.
  • Findings suggest potential differences emerge in older children, warranting further investigation.
  • Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the timing and impact of these factors on behavior and weight status for targeted interventions.
Abstract

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