Child-caregivers' body weight and habitual physical activity status is associated with overweight in kindergartners

The aim of this study was to examine whether child-caregivers', both parents and kindergarten teachers, health parameters (age, weight status, habitual physical activity score) are significantly associated with the risk of overweight in young children.

We assessed the individual body mass index standard deviation score in a regional cross-sectional health study and matched a representative sample of 434 kindergartners aged 3 to 6-years with their caregivers' weight and habitual physical activity status. Furthermore, we identified factors associated with the general ability of child-caregivers to identify overweight in children, and the awareness to classify a child within the correct weight category.

Our study confirmed most of the known associations between parental anthropometrics and psychosocial factors with childhood overweight and obesity. A significantly higher proportion of boys tended to be overweight or obese (p = 0.027) and parents were more likely to misclassified boys overweight as normal weight (OR: 1.86; 95% CI 1.21-2.86). Adjusted for confounders, logistic regression analysis revealed that kindergarten teachers' weight status (OR: 1.97; 95%-CI: 1.01-3.83) and habitual physical activity scores (OR: 2.32; 95%-CI: 1.10-4.92) were associated with children's weight status.

Kindergarten teachers' weight and habitual physical activity score seem to be new independent risk factors for overweight in kindergartners 3 to 6-years of age. Our results suggest that the psychosocial, non-genetic association of non-parental child-caregivers on children's weight is relatively high and that the association of non-parental child-caregivers warrants further investigation.