Parents' underestimation of their child's weight status. Moderating factors and change over time: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Parents' underestimation of their child's weight status can hinder active participation in overweight prevention programs. We examined the level of agreement between the parents' perception of their child's weight status and the child's actual weight status, moderating factors, and change over time. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used data collected in 2009 (n = 8105), 2013 (n = 8844) and 2017 (n = 11,022) from a community-based survey conducted among parents of children age 2-12 years in the Netherlands. Parents classified their perception of their child's weight status on a 5-point Likert scale. In 2009 and 2013, the child's BMI was calculated from self-reported data by parents. The level of agreement between the parent's perception of the weight status and the actual weight status was examined using Cohen's kappa. The role of demographic factors on parents' perception were examined using logistic regression. RESULTS: In 2009, 2013 and 2017, 6%, 6% and 5% of the parents, respectively, classified their child as heavy/extremely heavy. In 2009 and 2013, 64.7% and 61.0% of parents, respectively, underestimated the weight status of their overweight child. This was even higher among parents of obese children. Overall, the agreement between the parents' perception and the actual weight status improved from 2009 (kappa = 0.38) to 2013 (kappa = 0.43) (p<0.05), but remained unsatisfactory. The parents' underestimation of their child's overweight/obesity status was associated with the child's age in 2009 and 2013 (2-7 years; OR: 0.18), the child's gender in 2009 (male; OR: 0.55), and the parents' education level in 2009 (middle and high education; OR: 0.56 and 0.44 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Parents' underestimation of their child's weight status remains alarmingly high, particularly among parents of young, obese children. This underestimation is a barrier to preventing childhood overweight/obesity. Healthcare professionals should take this underestimation into consideration and should actively encourage parents to take steps to prevent overweight/obesity in their children

The Association of FTO SNP rs9939609 with Weight Gain at University

Contains fulltext : 152790.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)AIM: We tested the hypothesis that the obesity-associated FTO SNP rs9939609 would be associated with clinically significant weight gain (>/= 5% of initial body weight) in the first year of university; a time identified as high risk for weight gain. METHODS: We collected anthropometric data from university students (n = 1,411, mean age: 22.4 +/- 2.5 years, 49.1% male) at the beginning and end of the academic year. DNA was analysed for FTO rs9939609. Associations of FTO genotype with BMI at baseline were analysed using ANCOVA, and with risk of 5% weight gain over follow-up with logistic regression; both analyses adjusting for age and sex. The alpha level was reduced to 0.0125 to account for multiple testing. RESULTS: Using an additive model, FTO status was not associated with higher BMI at baseline (22.2 vs. 21.9 kg/m2, p = 0.059). Dropout was high but unrelated to genotype. Among the 310 (21.9%) completing follow-up, those with AT genotypes had twice the odds of >/= 5% weight gain compared with TTs (OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.05-4.01, p = 0.036), but this was no longer significant after Bonferroni correction. There was a trend for AA carriers for >/= 5% weight gain compared with TT carriers (p = 0.089), but sample size was small. CONCLUSION: This study provides nominal evidence for the genetic susceptibility hypothesis, but findings need to be replicated

Pathways from deprivation to health differed between individual and neighbourhood-based indices

Objective To explore the role of behavioral and psychosocial factors in explaining the social gradient in self-rated health as defined either by an individual or a neighborhood deprivation index. Study Design and Setting Data were from the baseline survey of the UK Flexible Sigmoidoscopy trial. Recruitment through general practices was stratified to generate a socioeconomically diverse sample (N=5,253, aged 55–64). Assessments included an individual and neighborhood deprivation index, each of which were categorized in four levels; three behavioral and three psychosocial factors; and self-rated health. Results Neighborhood deprivation was more strongly related to behavioral than to psychosocial factors, whereas individual deprivation was strongly related to both. The social gradient in poor self-rated health (odds in most compared to least deprived group) was 6.5 for individual and 4.2 for the neighborhood deprivation index. Behavioral and psychosocial variables explained, respectively, 7% and 11% of the individual deprivation gradient and 11% and 4% of the neighborhood gradient. The psychosocial pathway did not significantly mediate the neighborhood deprivation effect on self-rated health. Conclusion Intermediary pathways of the social gradient in self-rated health differed between individual and neighborhood-based deprivation indices, suggesting at least partly independent influences on poor health of individual and neighborhood-level deprivation

Are children's activity levels determined by their genes or environment? A systematic review of twin studies.

Contains fulltext : 152816.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

New technologies in sport and coaching

OBJECTIVE: Parental decision-making around extended formula feeding (12 months+) has not been explored previously. This study tested the hypotheses that extended formula milk use (i) is associated with poorer appetite and (ii) supplements lower food intake. METHODS: Appetite was assessed with the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) in 3854 twin children aged 16 months. Diet was assessed from 3-day diaries in 2714 children at 21 months. Parents reported their children's weight at 24 months. Associations between formula feeding and (1) appetite, (2) energy intake and (3) weight were examined. 35 mothers were interviewed when the children were 7 years old to explore retrospectively their reasons for extended formula feeding. RESULTS: Formula consumers (13% of the sample) scored significantly differently than non-formula consumers on five of the six CEBQ subscales, indicating lower appetite avidity: 'food responsiveness' (2.02 vs 2.22, respectively),'enjoyment of food' (3.99 vs 4.20), 'satiety responsiveness' (2.89 vs 2.65), 'slowness in eating' (2.63 vs 2.46) and 'food fussiness' (2.34 vs 2.14). Formula consumers had a significantly lower percentage of daily energy intake from food (70% vs 74%); however, total daily energy intake did not differ significantly from non-consumers (4315 vs 4373 kJ). At interview, mothers reported supplementing their child's diet with formula because of 'picky eating' and concerns about inadequate food intake. CONCLUSIONS: High formula milk intake is associated with picky-eating behaviours, but seems to act as a substitute for rather than a supplement to solid food. Prospective and intervention studies are needed to determine whether extended formula feeding has an enduring impact on weight trajectories, eating behaviours or health

Consultation rate and chlamydia positivity among ethnic minority clients at STI clinics in the Netherlands

Contains fulltext : 232240.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access

Central and Eastern European migrant worker status, co-living situation and SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission risk.

BACKGROUND: Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrant workers in essential industries are at higher risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure and transmission. We investigated the relationship of CEE migrant status and co-living situation with indicators of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission risk (ETR), aiming to find entry points for policies to reduce health inequalities for migrant workers. METHODS: We included 563 SARS-CoV-2-positive workers between October 2020 and July 2021. Data on ETR indicators were obtained from source- and contact-tracing interviews via retrospective analysis of medical records. Associations of CEE migrant status and co-living situation with ETR indicators were analyzed using chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: CEE migrant status was not associated with occupational ETR but was with higher occupational-domestic exposure [odds ratio (OR) 2.92; P = 0.004], lower domestic exposure (OR 0.25, P < 0.001), lower community exposure (OR 0.41, P = 0.050) and transmission (OR 0.40, P = 0.032) and higher general transmission (OR 1.76, P = 0.004) risk. Co-living was not associated with occupational and community ETR but was with higher occupational-domestic exposure (OR 2.63, P = 0.032), higher domestic transmission (OR 17.12, P < 0.001) and lower general exposure (OR 0.34, P = 0.007) risk. CONCLUSIONS: The workfloor poses an equal SARS-CoV-2 ETR for all workers. CEE migrants encounter less ETR in their community but pose a general risk by delaying testing. When co-living, CEE migrants encounter more domestic ETR. Coronavirus disease preventive policies should aim at occupational safety for essential industry workers, reduction of test delay for CEE migrants and improvement of distancing options when co-living