title: Effects of parents' employment status on changes in body mass index and percent body fat in adolescent girls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Parents' employment status is frequently cited as a possible predictor of child weight status. Despite the importance of the topic, only a few studies have been conducted. No longitudinal studies have been conducted in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cohort of 1201 girls from the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls was used. Height, weight, and percent body fat (PBF) were measured at the 6th and 8th grades. Parents' employment status (measured at 6th grade) was categorized into working full time (reference), part time, unemployed, working or staying at home, and don't know. Mixed-model regression was used to reflect the hierarchical design of our study and adjusted for age, race, parents' education level, free or reduced-price school lunch status, and living arrangement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Girls whose mothers worked part time or stayed at home had a decreased risk of excess weight gain [relative risk (RR) = 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88, 1.00; RR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.79, 1.00, respectively] compared to girls whose mothers worked full time. Girls whose fathers were unemployed had a moderately increased risk of excess weight gain (RR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.00, 1.26) compared to girls whose fathers worked full time. Having an unemployed mother or part-time or stay-at-home father was not associated with excess weight gain. Parents' employment status was not associated with excess PBF gain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that the availability of the mother has a greater influence on the weight of the daughter than the availability of the father. There is a need for a better understanding of how parents' employment status influences excess weight gain in adolescent girls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health, College Park, MD 20742, USA. sunmin@umd.edu
authors.forename: Sunmin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Deborah Rohm
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Charlotte A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.forename: Jared B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Jobe
authors.forename: Soo Eun
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Chae
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: McMurray
authors.forename: Carolyn C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Scott B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Going
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Elder
authors.forename: June
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stevens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009035:Mothers; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents; D015430:Weight Gain