Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10620/17468
Longitudinal Study: LSAC
Title: Preventing and treating childhood obesity: time to target fathers
Authors: Morgan, P 
Freeman, E 
Burrows, T 
Callister, R 
Collins, C 
Fletcher, R 
Publication Date: Jan-2012
Pages: 12-15
Keywords: obesity prevention
childhood obesity
father weight status
parent intervention
mother weight status
Abstract: Objective:To examine the long-term effects of having one overweight or obese parent on child weight status and determine whether these effects vary according to parent sex.Design:Prospective study: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).Subjects:Two-parent families (N=3285) from the LSAC were included if height and weight data were available for both parents and their child at the 2004 and 2008 time points.Measurements:Child weight status category (healthy, overweight, obese) in 2008 when the child was aged 8-9 years. Regression modelling was used to investigate how self-reported parent weight status in 2004 influenced measured child weight status 4 years later.Results:Parent body mass index (BMI) was significantly correlated with child BMI, but there was no evidence of sex-specific associations between parent and child BMI correlations. The results from the regression analysis showed that having an overweight or obese father, but a healthy weight mother, significantly increased the odds of child obesity (odds ratio: 4.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-17.33 and odds ratio: 14.88, 95% CI: 2.61-84.77, respectively), but the reverse scenario (overweight or obese mother with a healthy weight father) was not a significant predictor of child overweight or obesity (odds ratio: 2.52, 95% CI: 0.38-16.71 and odds ratio: 2.56, 95% CI: 0.31-21.26, respectively).Conclusions:Children with overweight or obese fathers are at a higher risk of becoming obese. This suggests that interventions are urgently required to test the efficacy of treating overweight fathers as a key strategy for childhood obesity prevention and/or treatment.
DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2011.198
URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22005717/
Keywords: Child Development -- Physical; Health -- Body size, BMI, Body image; Families -- Fathers
Research collection: Journal Articles
Appears in Collections:Journal Articles

Show full item record

Page view(s)

1,594
checked on Mar 29, 2024
Google icon

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.