The impact of maternal influences on childhood obesity
摘要：
There was a lack of detailed information about maternal infuences on their children’s body mass index (BMI) in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to fnd the evidence to describe how mothers’ factors could afect their 2 to 9-year-old children’s BMI, with data collected from May 2021 to June 2021. Anonymous self-administered questionnaires were completed by 1035 participants from Taiwan’s six metropolitan cities and eight counties. After controlling for children’s factors, such as number of children in a family, children’s constitution, children’s age and gender, hierarchical regression models were used to analyze the efects of fve maternal factors on their children’s BMI: maternal BMI, age, education level, monthly household income, and marital status (single parent or not). The results were found as follow: maternal BMI [β = .24], maternal educational level [β = −.141], and monthly household income [β = .071], signifcantly (p < 0.05) infuenced their children’s BMI. Higher maternal BMI was associated with a higher children’s BMI. Mothers with lower levels of education background were more likely to have children with a higher BMI. Monthly household income was a positive factor infuencing children’s BMI. In conclusion, this study is the frst detailed description of maternal infuences on their 2–9 years old children’s BMI in Taiwan. Although the study could not cover all of the factors infuencing Taiwan’s childhood obesity, we have discovered maternal BMI, education level, and monthly household income were signifcant factors associated with children’s BMI.
