Association between maternal and paternal employment and their children's weight status and unhealthy behaviours: does it matter who the working parent is?

Social determinants of child malnutrition outcomes: Evidence from CHNS in China

China is committed to reduce child malnutrition outcomes (CMO) rates to less than 5 % by 2030 in order to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Yet, this is still an enormous challenge for China, particularly in disadvantaged areas, due to regional and urban-rural disparities. Using China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data from 1991 to 2015 and fixed-effect models, this study investigates the social determinants of stunting (n = 4012) measured by height-for-age z score (HAZ) and wasting (n = 4229) measured by weight-for-height z score (WHZ) in children under the age of five. According to the empirical findings, the significant social determinants of child stunting encompassed whether the child is insured (p < 0.01), maternal education level (primary school (p < 0.01) low middle school (p < 0.01); vocational school (p < 0.01)), maternal employment status (p < 0.05), mother's average working days (p < 0.05), average household per capita income (p < 0.01), household asset index (p < 0.01), urbanization index living in a community (medium (p < 0.05); higher (p < 0.01); highest (p < 0.01)) and living regions (west (p < 0.01); northeast (p < 0.05)). Children's maternal employment status (p < 0.05), mother's average working days (p < 0.05), living areas (p < 0.05) and living regions (central (p < 0.01); west (p < 0.01); north-east (p < 0.05)) are the significant factors impacting child wasting. Furthermore, the interaction impact between maternal employment and have one additional working day per week is positive. To attain SDGs, the Chinese government should priorities lowering stunting and wasting among 5-year-olds in the western region, particularly in impoverished regions. Also, it is possible to develop tailored policies for the growth and development of children under the age of five by addressing pertinent socio-economic factors.

Caregiver Influences on Eating Behaviors in Children: An Opportunity for Preventing Obesity

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review seeks to define caregiver practices that impact childhood eating behaviors and identify ways to utilize these relationships to prevent childhood obesity.

RECENT FINDINGS

Childhood obesity, which correlates with adult obesity and increased cardiovascular risk, is increasing in prevalence and severity. Caregivers play a significant role in shaping a child's eating behaviors and their predisposition to obesity. Maternal influences during pregnancy and infancy impact a child's future food preferences. Caregiver feeding styles (authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent, and uninvolved) are associated with distinct effects on children's eating behaviors and self-regulation. Authoritative feeding styles promote child autonomy while setting boundaries in the feeding environment. Early caregiver education and coaching regarding nutrition and feeding practices is beneficial to establishing healthy eating behaviors for children. Various caregivers, including parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers, and others, influence a child's eating habits at different stages of development. These caregivers can both positively and negatively impact a child's diet. Comprehensive interventions involving these various caregivers to promote healthy eating practices in children is ideal. Such interventions should be sensitive to cultural and environmental factors. Childhood obesity is a complex issue with long-term health effects. Early intervention using comprehensive approaches including all caregivers, community support, and public policies to address the social determinants of health will be beneficial. Future research should focus on valid outcome measures and equitable interventions that encompass all aspects of a child's life.

Moderation of parental socioeconomic status on the relationship between birth health and developmental coordination disorder at early years

Objective

This study investigated whether parental SES moderates the effect of birth health on Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in preschool children.

Methods

One hundred and twenty-two children aged 4 to 6 years were enrolled in the study. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children --2nd Edition (MABC-2) test was used to assess the motor coordination of children. They were preliminarily categorized into either the DCD (<=16th percentile, n = 23) or typically developing (TD) group (>16th percentile, n = 99) based on the testing results. All children in the DCD group were further confirmed to meet other diagnostic criteria of the DSM-V using the intellectual test and parental questionnaires. Moderation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS, and 95% confidence intervals with a bootstrap procedure were calculated to identify the significant moderating effect.

Results

Maternal education (unstandardized coefficient = 0.6805, SE = 0.3371, p < 0.05) and maternal employment status (unstandardized coefficient = 0.6100, SE = 0.3059, p < 0.05) were found to moderate the relationship between birth length and the probability of having DCD. Moreover, the relationship between birth weight and the probability of having DCD was moderated by the annual household income (unstandardized coefficient = -0.0043, SE = 0.0022, p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The lower maternal education level and maternal unemployment strengthened the negative relationship between birth length and the probability of having DCD. Additionally, the negative relationship between birth weight and the probability of having DCD was statistically significant in high annual household salaries.