Explorations on risk profiles for overweight and obesity in 9501 preschool-aged children

BackgroundChildhood obesity places a major burden on global public health. We aimed to identify and characterize potential factors, both individually and jointly, in association with overweight and obesity in Chinese preschool-aged children.MethodsWe cross-sectionally recruited 9501 preschool-aged children from 30 kindergartens in Beijing and Tangshan. Overweight and obesity are defined according to the World Health Organization (WHO), International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), and China criteria.ResultsAfter multivariable adjustment, eating speed, sleep duration, birthweight, and paternal body mass index (BMI) were consistently and significantly associated with childhood overweight and obesity under three growth criteria at a significance level of 5%. Additional fast food intake frequency, maternal BMI, gestational weight gain (GWG) and maternal pre-pregnancy BMI were significant factors for overweight (WHO criteria) and obesity (both IOTF and China criteria). Importantly, there were significant interactions between parental obesity and eating speed for childhood obesity. Finally, for practical reasons, risk nomogram models were constructed for childhood overweight and obesity based on significant factors under each criterion, with good prediction accuracy.ConclusionOur findings indicated a synergistic association of lifestyle, fetal and neonatal, and family-related factors with the risk of experiencing overweight and obesity among preschool-aged children.