Abstract
Childhood obesity is encouraged by low physical activity (PA), time spent using screens (screen time, ST), and by sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (SSBc). It is also influenced by unfavorable parents' characteristics, such as a high body mass index (BMI) and low education level (EL). Our aim was to evaluate the overall and specific influence of these factors on childhood adiposity. Anthropometric parameters including BMI z-score, waist circumference (WC), waist to height ratio (WtHR), and fat mass were measured in a cohort of 1702 schoolchildren (6.0-14.5years, mean 10.7±1.8) and questionnaires concerning children's PA, ST, and SSBc, and parent's BMI and EL were administered to parents. Overweight/obesity prevalence was higher (P<.0001) in males (57%) than in females (43%). Less physically active children (28.9%) had a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity and higher BMI z-score, WC, WtHR, and fat mass relative to more physically active children (P<.05). PA was negatively associated with the BMI z-score (r=0.18, P<.0001) and fat mass percentage (r=0.18, P<.0001). Children with more ST had higher WC and WtHR than non-ST viewers (P<.05) but not BMI. Moreover, SSBc did not influence the anthropometric parameters. At multivariate analysis, male gender, less PA, and parental risk factors (parent's overweight/obesity and low/medium EL) were independently associated with overweight and obesity among childhood with a progressively increasing odds ratio (1.65, 1.40, and 1.80, respectively). Male gender, behavioral risk factors (particularly low PA), and parent's characteristics are important correlates of obesity in children.
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