Childhood obesity is an increasing public health concern in Indonesia. Parental body mass index (BMI) may be related to how children’s BMI develops over time, but the patterns may differ between sons and daughters and between maternal and paternal BMI.
About the Study
This longitudinal study examined associations between parental BMI Z-scores and the growth patterns of Indonesian children. It used data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS), following the same respondents across four survey waves from 1997-1998 to 2014-2015.
The study included children aged 5-12 years at the beginning of the observation period who had available height and weight measurements. A two-level growth curve model was used to examine repeated measurements over time and assess sex-specific associations between parental and child BMI Z-scores.
Main Findings
Parental BMI was positively associated with children’s BMI trajectories, although the strength of the association differed by the sex of the child. Among female children, fathers’ BMI Z-scores showed a stronger association with children’s BMI Z-scores than mothers’ BMI Z-scores, with coefficients of 0.31 and 0.17, respectively.
Among male children, mothers’ BMI Z-scores showed a slightly stronger association than fathers’ BMI Z-scores, with coefficients of 0.22 and 0.19, respectively. A significant interaction was also found between fathers’ BMI Z-scores and the duration of follow-up among male children. Male children whose fathers had higher BMI Z-scores showed a greater increase in BMI Z-scores over time.
Why It Matters
The findings highlight the importance of considering both maternal and paternal factors when studying children’s long-term growth patterns. Family-centered obesity prevention may benefit from addressing the health and nutritional environment of the entire household rather than focusing only on individual children.
Citation
Samodra YL, Chuang YC. A growth curve model to estimate longitudinal effects of parental BMI on Indonesian children’s growth patterns. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. 2024;15:e20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S204017442400028X