Maternal employment and childhood overweight in Turkey: a cross-sectional study from 22 provinces

This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between maternal employment and childhood overweight status, providing insights into potential preventive strategies. Overweight was defined as a body mass index ≥85th percentile. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews and anthropometric measurements. Univariate and logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS 25.0. Based on an estimated 20% prevalence of childhood overweight, a sample size of 683 was calculated with a 95% CI and 3% margin of error. To ensure heterogeneity, 1400 mother-child dyads were included. Among the 1459 children studied, 29.4% were overweight, while 54.5% of mothers were overweight. After adjusting for confounders, children of full-time employed mothers had a 1.4 times higher risk of being overweight (95% CI: 1.060–1.936). Additional risk factors included maternal smoking, maternal overweight status, and increasing maternal age. These findings emphasize the need for structured support for working mothers, including workplace policies for work-life balance, affordable childcare meal programs, and school initiatives for healthy eating and activity. Policymakers should address the unintended health impacts of maternal employment.