Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Turkey: A Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Perspective

Abstract

Abstract
 Objective: Childhood overweight and obesity have seen a dramatic increase in Turkey and other middle-income countries. The goal of this study is to understand the role of adverse exposures during pregnancy and infancy on young children’s risk of developing overweight and obesity. 
 Methods: Study uses four cross-sections of Turkish Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) between 1993 and 2008. Multilevel logistic modeling with random intercepts is applied to 5872 children between the ages of 2 and 5 in order to assess the main determinants of overweight and obesity. 
 Results: Findings show that maternal obesity, fetal overnutrition, and lack of infant breastfeeding are significant determinants of children’s risk of overweight and obesity, and may in fact be more important than the typical socio-economic determinants of child health, such as maternal education and household wealth. Conclusion: Public health efforts to prevent childhood overweight and obesity would be incomplete without considerations of maternal health and nutrition at the time of conception and during pregnancy, and of proper infant nutrition.