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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Parental work schedules and child overweight and obesity
S L Champion1, A R Rumbold, E J Steele
1Discipline of Public Health, Life Course and Intergenerational Health Research Group, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Insights
Paternal nonstandard work schedules, such as evenings or weekends, are linked to increased child overweight and obesity. This highlights the importance of fathers' work arrangements in child weight outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Sociology
Background:
- Maternal paid work hours are associated with child obesity, but evidence on nonstandard schedules is conflicting.
- Paternal work schedules and their impact on child weight have not been previously examined.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between maternal, paternal, and combined parental paid work schedules and child overweight/obesity at age 9.
- To explore the role of nonstandard work hours in these relationships.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 434 children in an Australian birth cohort study.
- Children classified as overweight/obese using International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) BMI cutoffs.
- Logistic regression adjusted for sociodemographic and household factors.
Main Results:
- 22.8% of 9-year-olds were overweight or obese.
- Paternal nonstandard work schedules were significantly associated with child overweight/obesity (aOR 1.97, 95% CI 1.08-3.61).
- No association found between maternal work schedules and child overweight/obesity. A borderline association was found for combined parental nonstandard schedules (aOR 2.26, 95% CI 0.99-5.16).
Conclusions:
- Nonstandard work hours, particularly for fathers or both parents, are associated with child overweight and obesity.
- Fathers' paid work arrangements may play a significant role in child weight outcomes.
- This research underscores the need to consider paternal work schedules in child obesity prevention strategies.
Objective:
Studies in school-age children have consistently shown a positive association between maternal paid work hours and child obesity. However, there is conflicting evidence about the impact of maternal work hours scheduled at nonstandard times (for example, evenings, nights or weekends), and no previous examination of paternal work schedules and child weight. We examined the associations between maternal, paternal and combined parental paid work schedules and overweight/obesity in children at age 9 years.
Methods:
Data were analysed from the most recent follow-up of 9-year-old children (n=434) in an Australian birth cohort study. Children were measured and classified as overweight/obese using the International Obesity Taskforce body mass index cutoff points. Current working conditions of parents were obtained from a structured interview with the primary caregiver. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the effect of parental work schedules on child overweight/obesity with adjustment for a range of sociodemographic and household factors associated with parental employment and child weight.
Results:
At 9 years of age, 99 children (22.8%) were overweight or obese. When parental work schedules were examined separately, child overweight/obesity was significantly associated with paternal nonstandard work schedules (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08-3.61). There was no association with any type of maternal work schedule. We also found an association between child overweight/obesity and circumstances in which both parents worked nonstandard schedules; however, this was of borderline statistical significance in the adjusted models (adjusted OR 2.26, 95% CI 0.99-5.16).
Conclusion:
Work hours scheduled at nonstandard times, when worked by the father or both parents, were associated with child overweight and obesity. These findings indicate the potential importance of fathers' paid work arrangements for child overweight/obesity, which until recently has largely been ignored.
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