Associations between current weight category and the children’s personal characteristics, health and habits, and current sociodemographic and health characteristics of parents and siblings (A), and between weight category and scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scales (B). Unselected regional cohort of 5-year-old children in Oppland County, Norway
| Valid n | All (n=1088) | Current weight category* | Overall p value† | ||||
| Underweight (n=89) | Normal weight (n=844) | Overweight (n=117) | Obese (n=38) | ||||
| (A) Characteristics | |||||||
| Children’s health and habits | |||||||
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 1088 | 5.72 (0.43) | 5.66 (0.44) | 5.72 (0.43) | 5.66 (0.37) | 5.82 (0.57) | 0.105 |
| Girls, % | 1088 | 52.5 | 49.4 | 51.8 | 58.1 | 57.9 | 0.487 |
| BMI SDS, mean (SD) | 1085 | 0.01 (1.03) | −1.93 (0.56)‡ | −0.10 (0.63) | 1.42 (0.28)‡ | 2.36 (0.44)‡ | <0.001 |
| Physical activity poorer than peers§, % | 1073 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 7.9‡ | 24.3‡ | <0.001 |
| Any physical health problems¶, % | 1016 | 28.1 | 27.2 | 28.2 | 26.6 | 31.6 | 0.943 |
| Any dental caries—parent report, % | 1079 | 20 | 19.1 | 18.7 | 25.4 | 34.2 | 0.051 |
| Low nutritional standard**, % | 1070 | 12.8 | 11.4 | 13.1 | 11.4 | 13.5 | 0.929 |
| Difficulties with skills or sleep††, % | 1062 | 29.1 | 28.4 | 29 | 28.2 | 37.1 | 0.76 |
| Kindergarten from 2 years of age, % | 1033 | 92.1 | 91.6 | 92.7 | 90.7 | 82.4 | 0.163 |
| Sociodemographic factors and health characteristics of parents and siblings | |||||||
| Municipality w/n>20 000, % | 1087 | 32.4 | 38.2 | 32.6 | 30.8 | 18.4 | 0.178 |
| Low maternal education, % | 1068 | 44.9 | 44 | 41.6 | 56.9‡ | 81.1‡ | <0.001 |
| Low paternal education, % | 1037 | 60.7 | 51.8 | 58.8 | 72.7‡ | 85.7‡ | <0.001 |
| Both parents low education, % | 1077 | 38.4 | 36.5 | 35.3 | 50.9‡ | 73.7‡ | <0.001 |
| Mother out of work, % | 1069 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 10.4 | 18.9 | 0.072 |
| Father out of work, % | 1046 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 7.9 | 15.2‡ | 0.009 |
| Parent(s) non-Western, % | 1088 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 10.5‡ | 0.015 |
| Living with one caretaker, % | 1073 | 13 | 9.3 | 12.1 | 17.2 | 29.7‡ | 0.006 |
| No siblings, % | 1065 | 9.1 | 4.5 | 8.9 | 15.9‡ | 2.9 | 0.017 |
| Mother smoking, % | 1088 | 19 | 14.6 | 16.6 | 31.6‡ | 44.7‡ | <0.001 |
| Current BMI mother, mean (SD) | 981 | 24.32 (3.85) | 23.03 (3.29) | 24.07 (3.64) | 26.09 (4.20)‡ | 27.52 (5.12)‡ | <0.001 |
| Current BMI father, mean (SD) | 924 | 26.38 (3.30) | 25.09 (2.71)‡ | 26.26 (3.16) | 27.54 (3.71) ‡ | 28.89 (4.33) ‡ | <0.001 |
| BMI SDS average for siblings | 630 | −0.21 (1.23) | −0.79 (1.24)‡ | −0.23 (1.20) | 0.25 (1.06)‡ | 0.55 (1.45)‡ | <0.001 |
| Mother currently obese, % | 980 | 9.1 | 6.2 | 7.1 | 17.5‡ | 34.3‡ | <0.001 |
| Father currently obese, % | 924 | 13 | 3.8‡ | 11.3 | 25.5‡ | 37.5‡ | <0.001 |
| Both parents currently obese, % | 891 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 2 | 3.3 | 19.4‡ | <0.001 |
| Behaviour difficulties in family, % | 1088 | 6.2 | 3.4 | 5.3 | 10.3‡ | 18.4‡ | 0.001 |
| (B) SDQ item | |||||||
| Emotional problems scale, mean (SD) | 1059 | 1.16 (1.43) | 1.48 (1.82) | 1.13 (1.37) | 1.02 (1.24) | 1.69 (1.93) | 0.011 |
| Conduct problems scale, mean (SD) | 1059 | 0.91 (1.08) | 0.95 (1.04) | 0.89 (1.07) | 0.97 (1.16) | 1.14 (1.18) | 0.474 |
| Hyperactivity scale, mean (SD) | 1057 | 2.23 (1.90) | 2.29 (2.23) | 2.17 (1.87) | 2.43 (1.86) | 2.89 (1.82) | 0.088 |
| Peer problems scale, mean (SD) | 1058 | 0.71 (1.24) | 0.93 (1.24) | 0.66 (1.18) | 0.84 (1.51) | 1.11 (1.43) | 0.025 |
| Prosocial scale, mean (SD) | 1057 | 8.64 (1.41) | 8.80 (1.19) | 8.63 (1.40) | 8.69 (1.47) | 8.36 (1.90) | 0.44 |
| Total Difficulties Score, mean (SD) | 1056 | 5.02 (3.82) | 5.63 (4.43) | 4.84 (3.63) | 5.26 (4.24) | 6.83 (4.55)‡ | 0.005 |
| Impact scale, mean (SD) | 1046 | 0.12 (0.71) | 0.07 (0.26) | 0.12 (0.71) | 0.15 (0.92) | 0.14 (0.55) | 0.879 |
| Emotional problems scale ≥90-percentile, % | 1059 | 15.7 | 20.7 | 15.2 | 13.9 | 19.4 | 0.487 |
| Conduct problems scale ≥90-percentile, % | 1059 | 22.6 | 27.6 | 22.3 | 19.1 | 27.8 | 0.453 |
| Hyperactivity scale ≥90-percentile, % | 1057 | 11.8 | 12.6 | 11.1 | 13 | 22.2 | 0.226 |
| Peer problem scale ≥90-percentile, % | 1058 | 22.3 | 27.9 | 20.8 | 24.3 | 36.1 | 0.078 |
| Prosocial scale ≤10-percentile, % | 1057 | 19.2 | 12.8 | 19.3 | 21.7 | 25 | 0.316 |
| Total Difficulties Score ≥90-percentile, % | 1056 | 10.3 | 18.6‡ | 8.7 | 11.3 | 25.0‡ | 0.001 |
*Based on the age and sex specific BMI criteria by the International Obesity Task Force.24 25
†P value from comparing all weight groups, that is, from one-way analysis of variance for continuous, and χ2 for categorical variables.
‡P value ≤0.05 in post hoc pairwise comparison with the normal weight group using Dunnett’s t-test (continuous variables) and χ2 test (categorical). Only performed when overall p≤0.05.
§Computed from the three dimensions on physical activity: frequency, intensity and endurance, each scored from 1 to 3 (better than peers, like peers, poorer than peers), giving a total score of 3–9, where 9 meant poorer than peers in all three dimensions. The figure is the prevalence of children with a score of 6 or higher.
¶Any current or previous chronic illnesses.
**At least three of the following: sweets >1 day/week, soft drink >1 day/week, fast food >1 day/week, breakfast <4 days/week, vegetables <2 days/week, fruit <5 days/week.
††If the child scored lower than their peers on fine motor, language or social skills, had sleep problems after 2 years of age, or if they had received any professional interventions within physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology or psychiatry, or had received any extra support in kindergarten after 2 years of age.
‡‡Symptom scores range from 0 to 10, Total Difficulties Score is the sum of the first four symptom scores (range 0–40). High score in the symptom scores means more problems, except for the Prosocial scale, which is scored opposite. Impact range 0–10.
BMI, body mass index; SDQ, Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDS, SD score23.