Risk of child obesity from parental obesity analysis of repeat national cross-sectional surveys

McLoone, P. and Morrison, D. (2013) Risk of child obesity from parental obesity analysis of repeat national cross-sectional surveys. European Journal of Public Health, (doi: 10.1093/eurpub/cks175)

Full text not currently available from Enlighten.

Abstract

<p>Objective: To estimate the potential to reduce childhood obesity through targeted interventions of overweight households.</p> <p>Design: Cross-sectional nationally representative samples of the Scottish population. Setting: Households in Scotland during 2008 and 2009. Participants: A total of 1651 households with parents and children aged 2–15 years. Main outcome measures: The WHO cut-off points for adult body mass index (BMI): overweight (25 to <30 kg/m2) and obese (≥30 kg/m2). Overweight and obesity in childhood respectively defined as a BMI 85th to <95th percentile and ≥95th percentile based on 1990 reference centiles.</p> <p>Results: Thirty-two percent (600/1849) of children and 75% (966/1290) of adults were overweight or obese. Seventy-five percent (1606/2128) of all children lived with a parent who was overweight or obese. Among obese children, 58% (185/318) lived with an obese parent. The population attributable risk percentage of child obesity associated with parental obesity was 32.5%. Targeting obese households would require substantial falls in adult weight and need to reach 38% of all children; it might achieve a reduction in the prevalence of childhood obesity of 14% in these households (from 26% to 12%). Targeting parents with BMI ≥ 40 might reduce the overall prevalence of child obesity by 9%. Such an intervention would require large weight loss, consistent with approaches used for morbidly obese adults; it would involve 4% of all children and lead to a reduction in the prevalence of obesity in these households from 57% to 16%.</p> <p>Conclusions: Family-based interventions for obesity would be most efficiently targeted at obese children whose parents are morbidly obese.</p>

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:McLoone, Mr Philip and Morrison, Dr David
Authors: McLoone, P., and Morrison, D.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Public Health
Journal Name:European Journal of Public Health
Publisher:Oxford University Press for European Journal of Public Health
ISSN:1101-1262
ISSN (Online):1464-360X
Published Online:18 December 2012

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record