Paternal BMI positively influenced children's fat mass (β=0.21), while maternal BMI affected body fat percentage, fat free mass, and fat mass in preschoolers.
Do family factors (parental BMI, physical activity, and feeding habits) influence the body composition of preschool children?
Parental BMI and physical activity habits directly and indirectly influence the body composition of preschool children.
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Drawing on the socio-ecological model, this study examines the influencing factors of preschool children's body composition at the family level, specifically parental body mass index (BMI), parental physical activity, and feeding habits. Using a structural equation model, it analyzes paths and effect sizes of different factors on various indices of children's body composition, aiming to provide quantitative model parameters and theoretical and practical references for the precise health promotion of preschool children's body composition. By cluster sampling, a total of 450 children aged 3–6 years were recruited from a Beijing kindergarten and assessed using the InBody J30 instrument. Relevant data were collected by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Basic Information Questionnaire for Young Children, and the Cronbach alpha reliability test was performed. The structural equation model was used to verify and analyze the path of the influencing factors of children's body composition, and the appropriate dependent variable ind were selected according to previous studies, including bone mineral content (BMC), body fat percentage（BFP), fat free mass, (FFM, fat mass（FM), soft lean mass (SLM), total body water（TBW, and the relevant theoretical models of the influencing factors of preschool children's body composition were constructed. All questionnaires yielded Cronbach’s alpha coefficients greater than 0.7, indicating data reliability. Paternal BMI had a positive effect on all the dependent variables included in this study, and most of the influence path coefficients were between 0.10.2, among which paternal BMI had a greater effect on children's FM(β=0.21), while maternal BMI only had a positive effect on BFP(β=0.12), FFM(β=0.13), and FM(β=0.12). Paternal MVPA had a positive effect on FM(β=0.19 * 0.11 = 0.0209) and TBW(β=0.14 * 0.14 =0.0196) by influencing children's MVPA, respectively, and maternal MVPA had a positive effect on TBW(β=0.11 * 0.14 = 0.0154) by affecting children's MVPA, and the effect of feeding style on children's body composition was mainly reflected in the three indexes of FFM(β=0.15)， FM(β=0.11) and SLM(β=0.14). Family factors are determinants of preschool children’s body composition. Parental BMI is not only directly related to children's body composition but also indirectly affected by their own activity habits. Parents should pay attention to their BMI, maintain a healthy weight, and actively participate in moderate-to-high-intensity physical activities.
Zhang et al. (Thu,) reported a other. Paternal BMI positively influenced children's fat mass (β=0.21), while maternal BMI affected body fat percentage, fat free mass, and fat mass in preschoolers.