Outcomes that explain excess of body fat mass in preschoolers: a cross-sectional exploratory study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Childhood obesity requires approaches that combine personal interventions with social and environmental changes. The preschool period is crucial in the context of the expansion of adipose tissue since it covers the adiposity rebound. Although emerging studies verifying a range of possible social, environmental, and personal explanatory variables for childhood obesity, the assessment of body fat mass using a gold standard instrument, is still a gap especially during the preschool period. The aim of this study was to determine social, environmental, and personal factors associated to the excess of body fat mass in preschool period. Methods: Quantitative, exploratory, cross-sectional study developed in public schools. Results: Analyzes using univariate and multivariate models demonstrated that parental obesity, highest quality of environmental stimulation and screen time explained almost 50% the excess of body fat mass in preschoolers. Conclusion: The presence of obesity in one parent, a home environment with high stimulation, and permanence for a long period on-screen are outcomes strongly associated with the presence of an excess of body fat mass in the preschool period. These findings may assist the development of public guidelines focusing on child health to outline effective strategies that contribute to the quality of life and treatment of preschoolers with excess body fat mass.