Abstract
Parental characteristics can influence adolescent obesity. However, the influence of parental characteristics on obesity may differ depending on the adolescent’s sex. This study evaluated parental characteristics that were associated with obesity in male and female adolescents. This study involved the secondary data analysis of cross-sectional survey data that were collected from June to September 2015. The study subjects included 1621 eighth-grade students. The study variables included sex, age, body mass index, household income, parental weight, parental perceptions of the child’s body, parental lifestyle, and parental social support for healthy eating and physical activity. The association between parental factors and adolescent obesity was analyzed via logistic regression analysis for each sex. Among male students, the fathers’ and mothers’ overweight status, fathers’ underestimation and overestimation of male adolescent weight, mothers’ dietary habits, and the mothers’ physical activity level were identified as obesity-associated factors. Among female students, the mothers’ overweight status, underestimation of female adolescent weight by fathers, dietary habits, and the physical activity level of fathers were significantly associated with adolescent obesity. The mothers’ overweight status and the underestimation of weight by fathers were strongly associated with obesity in male and female adolescents. Parental involvement in obesity-intervention programs could help prevent adolescent obesity.
Highlights
Over the past decade, obesity rates have steadily increased among children and adolescents acrossKorea [1]
An analysis of the overweight/obese status according to parental characteristics revealed statistically significant differences in the fathers’ and mothers’ weight statuses (p = 0.016 and < 0.001, respectively), and in the fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of the child’s body (p < 0.001 for both) (Table 1)
This study identified parental weight, parental perceptions of a child’s weight and parental dietary habits as factors affecting the prevalence of adolescent obesity
Summary
Obesity rates have steadily increased among children and adolescents acrossKorea [1]. Obesity rates have steadily increased among children and adolescents across. 2018, the obesity rates, including overweight, were 26.8% (male) and 21.1% (female) among elementary schoolers, 26.7% (male) and 22.4% (female) among middle schoolers, and 29.1% (male) and 25.1%. A comparison of these rates with those that were measured a decade earlier indicated the greatest obesity increase in middle schoolers among the school-aged children and adolescents [1]. Adolescent obesity is associated with increased risks of adult diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, as well as cancer, and increases the risk of early mortality [3]. Adolescent obesity leads to psychosocial problems, such as a negative self-image, low self-esteem, depression and anxiety [4]. Obesity prevention is important for ensuring an adolescent’s physical and mental health
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