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Overweight and Obesity in Finnish Children by Parents' Socioeconomic Position-A Registry-Based Study

Päivi Mäki1, Esko Levälahti1, Susanna Lehtinen-Jacks2,3

  • 1Health and Well-Being Promotion Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland.

International Journal of Public Health
|September 18, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Children from lower socioeconomic positions (SEP) face increased risks of overweight and obesity. This study highlights the value of administrative health registers for monitoring childhood obesity trends related to SEP.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Pediatrics
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Childhood overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns.
  • Socioeconomic position (SEP) is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of child health outcomes.
  • Understanding the relationship between parental SEP and child weight status is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between parents' socioeconomic position (SEP) and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children.
  • To utilize national registry data for a large-scale examination of these associations.
  • To assess the utility of administrative health registers for monitoring childhood obesity in relation to SEP.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized registry data from the national Register of Primary Health Care Visits (Avohilmo) and Statistics Finland.
  • Included a final sample of 194,423 children, with data on height, weight, and parental SEP.
  • Employed generalized linear models with a log-link function to estimate risk ratios (RR) for overweight (RROW) and obesity (RROB) across different SEP strata.

Main Results:

  • Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds exhibited a higher risk of overweight and obesity.
  • Specifically, lower risks were observed in children from high-income families, with highly educated parents, and residing in urban areas compared to their counterparts.
  • Risk ratios indicated significant protective effects associated with higher parental education and income, and urban living.

Conclusions:

  • Low socioeconomic position and rural residence are associated with an increased risk of childhood overweight and obesity.
  • Administrative health registers provide a valid and efficient method for monitoring childhood obesity trends stratified by parental socioeconomic position.
  • Findings underscore the need for public health strategies addressing socioeconomic disparities in child weight management.

Keywords:
childhood obesityhealth disparitiesoverweight and obesityregistry-based monitoringsocioeconomic position

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