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Updated: May 30, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Defining the complexity of childhood obesity and related behaviours within the family environment using structural
Gilly A Hendrie1, John Coveney, David N Cox
1Discipline of Public Health, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. gilly.hendrie@csiro.au
Insights
Parental factors and the home environment significantly influence children's health behaviors and weight status. Understanding these complex relationships is key for developing effective childhood obesity prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Childhood obesity research
- Family health dynamics
- Behavioral science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a complex issue influenced by multiple factors.
- The family environment plays a critical role in shaping children's health behaviors.
- Existing research often examines factors in isolation, necessitating a holistic approach.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define the intricate relationships between the family environment, health behaviors, and childhood obesity.
- To present a conceptual model quantifying interactions between parent factors, family environment, and children's weight status.
- To provide a framework for understanding the multifaceted influences on children's health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) was employed to quantitatively assess relationships.
- 157 families with children aged 5-10 years participated, completing self-report questionnaires.
- Data included parental knowledge, diet, activity, parenting styles, home environment, and child outcomes (diet, activity, weight status).
Main Results:
- Parental BMI and nutrition/physical activity knowledge directly correlated with children's BMI Z-scores.
- Parental dietary and activity behaviors indirectly influenced children's behaviors via the home environment.
- Home food and physical activity environments were significantly associated with children's dietary intake, activity levels, and sedentary habits.
Conclusions:
- A comprehensive conceptual model was developed, illustrating the complex interplay of family environmental factors on children's behavior and weight.
- The model highlights key parental and environmental influences on childhood obesity.
- This framework can guide future research and inform the development of targeted obesity prevention interventions for families.
Objective:
The present study aimed to define the complexity of the relationships between the family environment, health behaviours and obesity. A conceptual model that quantifies the relationships and interactions between parent factors, family environment, and certain aspects of children's behaviour and weight status is presented.
Design:
Exploratory structural equation modelling was used to quantitatively model the relationships between parent, child and family environmental factors.
Setting:
Adelaide, South Australia.
Subjects:
Families (n 157) with children aged 5-10 years completed self-reported questionnaires, providing data on parents' knowledge, diet quality and activity habits; child feeding and general parenting styles; and the food and physical activity environments. Outcome variables included children's fruit and vegetable intake, activity and sedentary habits and weight status.
Results:
The proposed model was an acceptable fit (normed fit index = 0·457; comparative fit index = 0·746; root-mean-squared error associated = 0·044). Parents' BMI (β = 0·32) and nutrition and physical activity knowledge (β = 0·17) had the strongest direct associations with children's BMI Z-score. Parents' dietary intake and energy expenditure behaviours were indirectly associated with children's behaviour through the creation of the home environment. The physical activity and food environments were associated with children's sedentary (β = -0·44) and activity habits (β = 0·29), and fruit and vegetable intake (β = 0·47), respectively.
Conclusions:
A conceptual model that quantifies the complex network of family environment factors influencing children's behaviour and weight status is presented. The model provides a basis for future research on larger representative samples with a view to guiding obesity prevention interventions.
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