Childhood obesity in a multiethnic society - Early life risk factors and communication with parents

Abstract

In a multi-ethnic cohort of healthy pregnant women and their children, we found striking ethnic differences in overweight and thinness in children at age 4-5 years. Children with origin in the Middle East and North Africa had twice the risk of overweight, compared with children with European origin, while children with South Asian origin had twice the risk of thinness. Maternal overweight more than doubled children’s risk of overweight. Maternal prepregnant obesity was associated with a stable high BMI from birth to 4-5 years, while high maternal gestational weight gain was associated with faster BMI growth from age 6 months. Children exposed to gestational diabetes had a fall in BMI during first 6 months, followed by a rise in BMI. In-depth interviews with parents of preschool children recently identified with overweight revealed that parents felt vulnerable, feared eating disorders, and preferred conversations without the child present. This thesis provides new knowledge for identification of families at risk and improvement of communication with parents. It emphasizes the importance of a transgenerational perspective on childhood obesity, as well as cooperation across professions.