Abstract
This cross-sectional, exploratory study aimed to (1) develop an obesity risk score using a comprehensive set of variables assessing mothers’ intrapersonal weight-related characteristics and those of their homes’ interpersonal and physical environments, and (2) determine how weight-related characteristics differ by obesity risk level. U.S. mothers (N = 550) of preschool-aged children completed an online survey that assessed maternal self-report weight status, sociodemographics, health-related characteristics, and maternal intrapersonal and their homes’ interpersonal and physical environment weight-related characteristics. Binomial logistic regression analysis identified variables significantly associated with obesity. Scores for all obesity risk variables were summed to create a weighted obesity risk score for non-obese participants (n = 386). Analysis of variance and Tukey post-hoc tests determined how non-obese mothers’ sociodemographic, health-related, and intrapersonal and their homes’ interpersonal and physical environment characteristics differed among obesity risk score tertiles. Results revealed that eight variables explained 53 percent of maternal obesity risk, including African American race, lower education level, more children in household, poorer maternal health, higher weight teasing history, higher body dissatisfaction, primary relative with obesity, and greater concern about children’s overweight risk. Non-obese mothers in the highest obesity risk tertile had greater food insecurity risk, lower family affluence, worse sleep quality, less fruit/vegetable availability, and reported less frequent modeling of healthy behaviors and more family conflict. In conclusion, eight characteristics that explained more than half of the risk for obesity in non-obese mothers of young children, may help healthcare professionals identify mothers at increased risk of obesity and offer preventive care early.
Highlights
Recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicate that nearly 34.9 percent of U.S adults are obese [1]
This study developed an obesity risk score for non-obese mothers of young children using a comprehensive array of sociodemographic and weight-related intrapersonal, interpersonal, and home environmental characteristics
Women of African American race are more likely to be overweight or obese than other racial and ethnic groups [1]; lower education attainment is associated with overweight and obesity [1,83]; obese adults have more chronic disease [92,93] and report poorer health [94]; obese women are more likely to report being teased growing up [95,96]; and body shape dissatisfaction is associated with overweight and obesity [97,98]
Summary
Recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) indicate that nearly 34.9 percent of U.S adults are obese [1]. It is no longer debated that obesity and its comorbidities are significantly impacting Americans both in financial and quality of life costs. The physical health consequences of obesity are numerous and include effects on the pulmonary, orthopedic, neurological, gastroenterological, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems, as well as causing systemic inflammation, thereby greatly impacting quality of life [3,4,5,6]. Changes in lifestyles and the environment that have occurred in tandem with the increase in obesity include ready availability of food and shifting dietary patterns, which have led to an increase in calorie intake [10,11], combined with a decline in energy expenditure associated with a sedentary lifestyle [12]
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