Parental Weight Status, Birth Weight and Depression Signs Influence on Child’s z-BMI

Abstract

Objectives: Overweight and obesity has become an important worldwide health issue, that is why the risk factors for gaining excess weight are being studied a lot. Big birth weight and parental overweight are known risk factors for childhood overweight. The association between psychological issues and excess weight is bidirectional.  Aim of our research was assessing if there was any association between parental weight status, birth weight or signs of depression and the exact value of already overweight child’s standardized body mass index (z-BMI).  Study design: Cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: All 303 respondents included were six to seventeen years old patients of the first weight correction programme in Baltic states. Their first day data were gathered from Children’s Clinical University Hospital electronic databases Andromeda and Saule, as well as from outpatient medical records. Height and weight data were turned into z-BMI. Depression signs had been assessed using Children Depression Inventory (by M. Kovacs, 1992). Parental weight status and child’s birth weight had also been documented. Results: From all 303 respondents 141 (47%) were boys. Median age 12 (IQR 10-15) years. The median z-BMI was significantly higher in boys than in girls (2.97 (IQR 2.59-3.37) vs. 2.59 (IQR 2.13-2.90), p<0.001). Parental weight status correlated significantly with z-BMI value in boys (r=0.17, p=0.043) and in girls (r=0.18, p=0.026). The correlation became stronger when controlled by birth weight and signs of depression: r=0.87, p=0.005 for boys; r=0.96, p<0.001 for girls. There was no significant correlation between z-BMI and either birth weight or signs of depression. Conclusions: The parental excess weight correlated significantly with the z-BMI of their son or daughter. The signs of depression and birth weight had no significant association with z-BMI.