Examining the Association Between Parental Factors and Childhood Obesity.
Kashica J Webber-Ritchey, Desale Habtezgi, Xiaoxia Wu and 1 others
PMID 36920112WHAT IT FOUND
Child internet time was associated with higher BMI in low-income families, and children with overweight or obese parents were more likely to be overweight or obese.
Parent diet was associated with parent weight, and child diet was not measured.
Key findings
01Among child behavior variables, internet use was the only factor significantly related to increasing child BMI, and the overall model explained little.
02Parent diet was associated with parent overweight or obesity: cheese and Mexican-type salsa with tomato and tomato sauces were linked to higher odds, while milk and potatoes were linked to lower odds.
03Children with overweight or obese parents had a 49.5% risk of overweight or obesity, which was 12% higher than for children with normal-weight parents.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that parent diet, internet time, or parent weight caused child weight. Diet, physical activity, and sedentary behavior were self-reported and may be affected by recall and social desirability bias. The child BMI model explained very little, and no association was found between child physical activity and BMI. Child dietary intake was not measured, so the study could not separate parent diet from child diet. The sample was 428 dyads from one low-income suburb, so results may not apply to other communities.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing child internet use or changing parent diet will lower child BMI. The study was cross-sectional, used self-reported behaviors, and did not test an intervention.