Obesity risk factors in Turkish preschool children: a cross-sectional study

Purpose: The present study aims to identify the potential risk factors - pre and post-pregnancy, children's, parental, and environmental factors - concerning obesity in Turkish preschool children.Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted with 538 children aged 3-5 and their mothers in 25 private and public kindergartens using a face-to-face survey. Demographic, anthropometric, nutrition, sleep, and physical activity information during pregnancy, infancy, and preschool periods were evaluated. Two-day food records and anthropometric measurements of the children were collected.Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool children was found to be 27.0%. Among the 28 potential risk factors examined, pre-pregnancy obesity (odds ratios (OR):1.108, confidence interval (CI): 1.042-1.179), post-pregnancy obesity (OR:4.350, CI: 2.053-9.217), caffeine intake >200 mg/day during pregnancy (OR:1.588, CI:1.031-2.446), father with obesity (OR: 1.089, CI: 1.027-1.155), enrolling a private rather than a public kindergarten (OR: 2.093, CI:1.298-3.376), fast eating (OR:3.355, CI: 1.175-9.583 min), short lunch duration (OR:0.966, CI:0.934-0.998), daily sleep of <10 hours (OR:2.522, 1.439-4.421), and finally screen time of >2 hours/day (OR:1.560, CI:1.012-2.405) were found to be significantly correlated with obesity in preschool children.Conclusion: Parental obesity, caffeine intake during pregnancy, eating speed, daily sleep, and screen time were determined as obesity risk factors in Turkish preschool children. Identifying maternal and child risk factors in early childhood, regulating lifestyle and obesogenic environment can be protective against obesity.