Family Stress Study: Methods and baseline demographics of a prospective observational study testing a biobehavioural model of chronic stress and weight gain in young children (Preprint)

Abstract

Chronic stress is an important risk factor in the development of obesity. While research suggests chronic stress is linked to excess weight gain in children, the biological or behavioural mechanisms are poorly understood.

The objectives of the Family Stress Study are to examine behavioural and biological pathways through which chronic stress exposure (including stress from COVID-19) may be associated with adiposity in young children, and to determine if factors such as child sex, caregiver-child relationship quality, caregiver education and caregiver self-regulation moderate the association between chronic stress and child adiposity.

The Family Stress Study is a prospective cohort study of families recruited from two Canadian sites: University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Participants will be followed for 2 years and were eligible to participate if they had at least one child (age 2-6) and no plans to move from the area within the next 3 years. Study questionnaires and measures were completed remotely at baseline and will be assessed using the same methods at 1- and 2-year follow-ups.

The study sample includes 359 families (359 children; 359 female caregivers;179 male caregivers). Children’s mean (SD) age is 3.9 (1.2) years and 51% are female. Approximately 74% of children and 80% of caregivers identify as white. Approximately 34% of caregivers have a college diploma or less and nearly 93% are married or cohabitating with a partner. Nearly half (47%) of the families have an annual household income ≥$100 000 CAD.

Despite public health restrictions from COVID-19, the Family Stress Study was successful in recruiting and using remote data collection to successfully engage families in the study. Results from this study will help identify the direction and relative contributions of the biological and behavioural pathways linking chronic stress and adiposity. These findings will aid in the development of effective interventions designed to modify these pathways and reduce obesity risk in children.

This study has been retrospectively registered with the ‘Clinicaltrials.gov, Protocol and Results Registration System (ID: NCT05534711) as of September 8, 2022.