Trends and associated factors of intergenerational obesity mother-child pairs in low-income households in Malaysia: Evidence from the National Health and Morbidity Survey.

Abstract

The transmission in intergenerational overweight and obesity (OW/OB) from mothers to their offspring has been widely explored in numerous studies. This phenomenon of OW/OB is a greater concern globally in particular among low-income households. However, studies conducted to determine the factors associated with OW/OB among mother-child pairs in low-income families are very scarce especially in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence trend and associated factors of overweight mothers and children in low-income households using the National Health and Morbidity Survey data between the years 2006 to 2015. In each low-income household, mother and child were identified and grouped as mother-child pairs based on their body mass index categories. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to determine the factors associated with overweight mother/overweight child pairs (OWM/OWC) in low-income households. The reference group determined in the analysis was normal weight mother/normal weight child pairs (NWM/NWC). Within a decade, the transmission of OWM/OWC mother-child pairs in the low-income households has increased by 9.0%, while the prevalence of NWM/NWC decreased by 6.9%. In low-income households, older mothers and children aged between 10 to 14 years were significantly associated with OWM/OWC, while a larger household size and being as Chinese were less likely to become OWM/OWC. In conclusion, intergenerational obesity in mother and their offspring is showing an alarming trend among the lowest socio-economic group in Malaysia.