The impact of maternal influences on childhood obesity

Abstract

There was a lack of detailed information about maternal influences on their children’s body mass index (BMI) in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to find the evidence to describe how mothers’ factors could affect their 2 to 9-year-old children’s BMI, with data collected from May 2021 to June 2021. Anonymous self-administered questionnaires were completed by 1035 participants from Taiwan’s six metropolitan cities and eight counties. After controlling for children’s factors, such as number of children in a family, children’s constitution, children’s age and gender, hierarchical regression models were used to analyze the effects of five maternal factors on their children’s BMI: maternal BMI, age, education level, monthly household income, and marital status (single parent or not). The results were found as follow: maternal BMI [β = .24], maternal educational level [β = −.141], and monthly household income [β = .071], significantly (p < 0.05) influenced their children’s BMI. Higher maternal BMI was associated with a higher children’s BMI. Mothers with lower levels of education background were more likely to have children with a higher BMI. Monthly household income was a positive factor influencing children’s BMI. In conclusion, this study is the first detailed description of maternal influences on their 2–9 years old children’s BMI in Taiwan. Although the study could not cover all of the factors influencing Taiwan’s childhood obesity, we have discovered maternal BMI, education level, and monthly household income were significant factors associated with children’s BMI.