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Child's home environment in relation to the mother's adiposity
J F Sallis1, S L Broyles, G Frank-Spohrer
1Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, CA 92120, USA.
Insights
Maternal obesity is linked to family environment, but few factors were identified. Television viewing was associated with mothers
Area of Science:
- Pediatric obesity research
- Family environment and child health
- Maternal health and its impact on offspring
Background:
- Conflicting findings exist regarding non-genetic family factors influencing childhood obesity.
- Specific family environment characteristics impacting childhood obesity risk remain unidentified.
- Maternal adiposity may influence child obesity risk through behavioral pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the association between mother's adiposity and family environment factors.
- To identify family environment characteristics influencing a child's obesity risk.
- To examine the role of eating and physical activity behaviors in this association.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional, correlational study design.
- Maternal adiposity assessed via skinfold measurements (triceps and subscapular).
- Family environment assessed through direct observation and structured mother interviews.
Main Results:
- Maternal adiposity correlated with marital status; married mothers had higher adiposity.
- Only two of 23 family environment variables significantly correlated with maternal adiposity.
- Television-related variables were the only significant family environment factors identified.
- Demographic and family environment variables explained only 4% of the variance in maternal skinfolds.
Conclusions:
- Few family environment characteristics were found to be related to maternal adiposity.
- The study highlights a limited association between observed family environment factors and maternal adiposity.
Objective:
There are conflicting findings regarding the role of non-genetic family factors on obesity in children, but specific characteristics of the family environment that may influence childhood obesity have not been identified. The purpose of the present study was to explore the association between mother's adiposity and family environment factors that could influence the child's risk of obesity, primarily through effects on eating and physical activity behaviors.
Design And Measures:
Cross-sectional, correlational study. Adiposity was estimated by the sum of mothers' triceps and subscapular skinfolds. Family environment measures were assessed by direct observation and by structured interviews with mothers.
Subjects:
A sample of 347 mothers of preschool children were assessed.
Results:
Mother's adiposity was related to marital status, with married mothers having thicker skinfolds. Only two of 23 family environment variables were significantly correlated with mother's adiposity, and both of these variables were related to television. The demographic and family environment variables accounted for only 4% of the variance in mothers' skinfolds.
Conclusion:
The present study identified few characteristics of the family environment that were related to mother's adiposity.