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Updated: Jul 16, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Modeling BMI z score lability during childhood as a function of child temperament and genetic risk for obesity
Chang Liu1, Jenae M Neiderhiser2, Nilam Ram3
1Department of Psychology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA.
Insights
Child temperament, like negative affectivity and effortful control, influences weight status stability. Genetic risk for obesity can increase weight lability, while effortful control promotes stability in healthy-weight children.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Behavioral Genetics
- Pediatric Obesity
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern.
- Understanding factors influencing weight status trajectories is crucial for intervention.
- Temperament and genetic predispositions are potential contributors to weight status variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of genetic risk for obesity and child temperament (negative affectivity, effortful control) in the stability and lability of body mass index (BMI) z scores over time.
- To explore how these factors relate to individual differences in BMI z score trajectories from birth to age 9.
- To examine these associations within healthy weight and overweight/obesity groups.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 561 adopted children followed from birth to age 9.
- Utilized a multilevel location-scale model to analyze BMI z score level and lability.
- Assessed child genetic risk for obesity and temperament (negative affectivity, effortful control).
Main Results:
- Higher negative affectivity was linked to greater BMI z score lability.
- Greater effortful control and higher mean BMI z scores were associated with less BMI lability.
- In healthy-weight children, better effortful control predicted stable BMI z scores, while genetic obesity risk predicted labile BMI z scores.
Conclusions:
- Child temperament and genetic factors significantly impact the stability of weight status during development.
- Effortful control may serve as a protective factor for maintaining healthy weight trajectories.
- Targeting temperament and genetic risk factors could inform strategies for managing childhood obesity.
Objective:
This study aimed to examine whether child genetic risk for obesity and temperament (i.e., negative affectivity, effortful control) accounted for stability versus lability in children's weight status (BMI z score) over time.
Methods:
A total of 561 adopted children (42% female; 56% Caucasian, 13% African American, 11% Latino, and 20% other) and their birth and adoptive parents were followed from birth to age 9 years. The multilevel location-scale model was used to examine whether child genetic risk for obesity and temperament were related to differences in level and lability in child BMI z scores over time.
Results:
For the full sample, higher levels of child negative affectivity were associated with greater BMI z score lability, whereas higher levels of effortful control and children's mean-level BMI z scores were related to less lability across childhood. Additional analyses examined associations within groups of children with healthy versus overweight/obesity weight statuses. Within the healthy weight status group only, better effortful control was associated with more stable BMI z scores, whereas genetic risk for higher BMI was associated with more labile BMI z scores.
Conclusions:
These findings provide insights into factors that can be harnessed to redirect unhealthy trajectories as well as factors that may challenge redirection or maintain a healthy trajectory.
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