title: Clustering of obesity-related risk behaviors in children and their mothers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the clustering and patterns of obesity-related behaviors in children and their mothers and the concordance between mother and child pairs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary school-aged children and their mothers in Victoria, Australia, participated (data from 549 mothers, 352 children, and 304 mother/child pairs). Examination of behavior patterns included 1) assessment of the overlap in national physical activity, screen-time, and fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines being met; and 2) cluster analysis of positive (consumption of fruits and vegetables) and negative (consumption of energy dense food/drink) dietary behaviors, sedentary behavior/screen-time, and physical activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only partial overlap was observed between groups meeting national recommendations for sedentary behavior and consumption of fruit and vegetables and energy-dense food. Less than 40% of mothers and children were meeting sedentary behavior guidelines. In both mothers and children five clusters were identified. With the exception of a single cluster in children with high levels of physical activity, clusters of healthy and unhealthy behavior were concordant in mothers and their children (p < .0001), particularly those defined by sedentary behaviors and consumption of energy-dense food/drink.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Complex patterns of obesity-related behaviors exist in children and their mothers. The concordance of clusters between children and their mothers suggests that modeling of sedentary behavior and creation of a child's eating environment by parents may be particularly important influences on children's behavior.
authors.affiliation: Deakin University, Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Burkwood, Australia. Adrian.Cameron@deakin.edu.au
authors.forename: Adrian J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McNaughton
authors.forename: Gita D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Kylie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ball
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology