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Influence of Behavioral and Environmental Factors on the Development of Obesity in Three-year-old Children -A
H Sugimori1, K Yoshida, M Miyakawa
1Depart. of Hygiene & Preventive Medicine, Showa University, School of Medicine, 1-5-8 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, 142, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Childhood obesity is linked to adult chronic diseases. This study identified key behavioral and environmental factors, like parental weight and sleep duration, contributing to obesity in 3-year-olds for early intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Preventive Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing concern with long-term health implications.
- Early identification of risk factors is crucial for preventive strategies.
- Understanding the interplay of behavioral and environmental factors is key to addressing childhood obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between obesity in 3-year-old children and various behavioral and environmental factors.
- To identify modifiable risk factors for early intervention in pediatric obesity.
- To provide evidence for preventive medicine approaches targeting childhood obesity.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study was conducted using data from the Toyama study.
- Matched-pair comparisons were made between obese children (Kaup's index ≥ 18) and control children.
- Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was employed to adjust for confounding factors.
Main Results:
- Several factors significantly correlated with childhood obesity: maternal and paternal overweight, irregular snack consumption, shorter sleep duration, and less maternal childcare responsibility.
- Birth weight and gender also showed significant associations.
- Specific factors like maternal overweight and irregular snacking were particularly relevant for boys, while short sleep duration was significant for girls.
Conclusions:
- Parental weight status, birth weight, childcare arrangements, sleep duration, and irregular eating habits are significant predictors of childhood obesity.
- These findings highlight the importance of early, targeted interventions focusing on family lifestyle and environmental factors.
- Addressing these modifiable risk factors can contribute to the prevention of chronic diseases later in life.
Abstract:
Obesity in children seems to be a risk factor for chronic diseases in adulthood. From the viewpoint of preventive medicine, factors influencing the development of obese children should be removed early in life.The purpose of this study was to the elucidate relationship between obesity in 3-year-old children and both behavioral and environmental factors by conducting a case-control study. Subjects were selected from the Toyama study. Matched-pair comparisons were performed between obese children whose Kaup's index was 18 or more (N=117) and control children (N=234) . Multivariate stepwised logistic regression analysis also applied to assess influence of confounding factors.The results indicated that the following 6 factors significantly influenced the development of obese 3-year-old children in exact Fisher's method analysis (p<0.05): person other than the mother responsible for taking care of the child, short sleep duration (9 hours or less), physical inactivity, eating snacks irregularly, overweight father (BMI≥24), and overweight mother (BMI≥24). For both sexes, after adjusting for confounders by multivariate stepwise logistic analysis, overweight mother (OR 2.54, 95 % CI 1.64-3.95), birth overweight (birth weight≥3,500g; OR 1.76, 95 % CI 1.15-2.69), the mother not responsible for taking care of the child (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.10-2.48), overweight father (OR 1.62, 95%CI 1.09-2.40), eating snacks irregularly (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.04-2.33), and gender (female;OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.34-0.77) had significant relationships with obesity in childhood. For boys, overweight mother (OR 2.53, 95 % CI 1.47-4.35), birth overweight (OR 2.03, 95%CI 1.22-3.39), eating snacks irregularly (OR 1.94, 95 %CI 1.19-3.18), and birth month (36-41 months; OR 0.47, 95 % CI 0.23-0.96) had significant relationships. For girls, overweight mother (OR 2.62, 1.28-5.35), and short sleep duration (OR 2.24, 1.11-4.52) had significant relationships. In neither Fisher's exact method nor multivariate logistic models, time to wake up, bedtime, duration of playing outdoors, regularity of meals, care about salty food, or frequency of eating snacks had significant relations with obesity in 3-year-old children (p<0.05).
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