Higher socioeconomic status is related to healthier levels of fatness and fitness already at 3 to 5 years of age: The PREFIT project

This study aimed to analyse the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and fatness and fitness in preschoolers. 2,638 preschoolers (3-5 years old; 47.2% girls) participated. SES was estimated from the parental educational and occupational levels, and the marital status. Fatness was assessed by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Physical fitness components were assessed using the PREFIT battery. Preschoolers whose parents had higher educational levels had lower fatness (P 0.05). BMI significantly differed across occupational levels of each parent (P 0.05) and WHtR across paternal levels (P = 0.004). Musculoskeletal fitness was different across any SES factor (P 0.05), except handgrip across paternal occupational levels (P ≥ 0.05). Preschoolers with high paternal occupation had higher speed/agility (P = 0.005), and those with high or low maternal education had higher VO