Maternal prepregnancy body mass index in relation to Hispanic preschooler overweight/obesity.
The aim of the current study was to examine the role of maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) on overweight/obesity among US Hispanic children ages 2 and 4 years old. We used US nationally representative data from preschoolers enrolled in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort study. The findings revealed that a significantly higher percent (41.6%) of Hispanic mothers were overweight/obese prior to pregnancy compared to white mothers (34.8%). At 2 years of age, 38.3% of the children born to Hispanic mothers were overweight/obese compared to 29.4% of children born to white mothers. By the age of 4, overweight/obesity increased significantly for both racial/ethnic groups with preschoolers whose mothers were Hispanic being more likely to be overweight/obese (44.6%) compared to children whose mothers were white (34.2%). Further, preschoolers born to overweight/obese Hispanic mothers were more than twice as likely [odds ratio = 2.74 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.60, 4.69)] to be overweight/obese than those born to Hispanic mothers of normal prepregnancy BMI. Preschoolers born to overweight/obese white mothers were approximately 1.4 (95% CI 1.05, 1.93) times more likely to be overweight/obese in comparison to those born to mothers with a normal prepregnancy BMI. Maternal prepregnancy weight is potentially a modifiable risk factor for preschooler overweight/obesity. Study findings support the design of early and targeted interventions to reduce this risk to the long-term health of Hispanic maternal and child dyads.
Department of Health Administration and Policy, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, MS 1J3, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA. pkitsant@gmu.edu
Panagiota
P
Kitsantas
Lisa R
LR
Pawloski
Kathleen F
KF
Gaffney
D015992:Body Mass Index; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors