Maternal weight misperceptions and smoking are associated with overweight and obesity in low SES preschoolers

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition 2012-02, Vol.66 (2), p.216-223
• Main Authors: Kaufman-Shriqui, V, Fraser, D, Novack, Y, Bilenko, N, Vardi, H, Abu-Saad, K, Elhadad, N, Feine, Z, Mor, K, Shahar, D R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age composition; Age Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Body mass index; Body size; Body Weight; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Children & youth; Clinical Nutrition; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Epidemiology; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health Behavior; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Internal Medicine; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Mothers; Mothers - psychology; Multivariable control; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - etiology; Obesity in children; Odds Ratio; original-article; Overweight; Parameter identification; Perception; Perceptions; Physiological aspects; Poverty; Preschool children; Prevalence; Prevalence studies (Epidemiology); Public Health; Regression analysis; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Sedentary Lifestyle; Sex Factors; Size Perception; Smoking; Social Class; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Statistical analysis; Tobacco, tobacco smoking; Toxicology; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/ejcn.2011.144

Objectives: To identify modifiable risk factors for obesity among low socioeconomic status (LSES) children. Methods: Cross-sectional data were obtained from 238 4–7-year-old children and 224 mothers from LSES preschools. Anthropometric measurements were obtained; mothers were interviewed about sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, perceptions and beliefs. Results: The combined prevalence of overweight and obesity (OWOB) among children was 29.8% based on the new World Health Organization (WHO) growth standard. Prevalence of OWOB (body mass index ⩾25) among mothers was 51.8%. Mean age, sleeping hours, gender distribution and poverty level were similar between normal and OWOB children. Over 82% of mothers underestimated their child's weight status. Of the 62 OWOB children, 74.2% were perceived by their mothers as having ‘normal weight’ (NW) and 8% were perceived as ‘thin’. Mothers perceived 67 out of 158 NW children (42.4%) as ‘thin’ ( P