Influence of early-life and parental factors on childhood overweight and obesity

We recently reported that a high BMI and high waist circumference prevalence is present in Sicilian children and that the male gender is associated with a significant risk of obesity. Early-life and parent-related risk factors were investigated 1521 Sicilian children (752 females and 769 males, aged 9.0–14.0 years) to identify biological and environmental factors that can contribute to obesity onset. Anthropometric measurements of children, their urban vs rural area provenience, birth weight and neonatal feeding were collected. In addition, the BMI and educational level of their parents and the perception of their child weight status were investigated. In the study cohort, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 27.2 and 14.1 %, respectively, significantly (p