Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics for children and their mothers (n = 530)
| Cross-sectional (n = 530) |
Prospective (n = 170) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Childrena | Mothersb | Children | Mothers | |
| Female (n (%)) | 257 (48.5) | 85 (50) | ||
| Age (years) | 6.7 (0.3) | 37.2 (3.6) | 6.7 (0.3) | 37.7 (3.7) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 16.1 (1.7) | 24.4 (9.2) | 16.2 (1.7) | 26.7 (5.2) |
| Weight Status (n (%)) | ||||
| Underweight | 30 (5.7) | 7 (4.2) | ||
| Normal weight | 408 (77.9) | 264 (50.6) | 130 (78.3) | 56 (42.4) |
| Overweight/ obese | 86 (16.4) | 257 (49.3) | 29 (17.5) | 78 (57.5) |
| BMI z-score | 0.25 (1.0) | 0.32 (1.0) | ||
| Age mother left full-time education (n (%)) | ||||
| < 16 years | 191 (36.1) | 55 (32.4) | ||
| 17–18 years | 196 (37.1) | 65 (38.2) | ||
| > 18 years | 142 (26.8) | 50 (29.4) | ||
| Other children in the home (n (%)) | ||||
| None | 218 (41.4) | 71 (41.8) | ||
| Older only | 138 (26.0) | 40 (23.5) | ||
| Younger only | 135 (25.5) | 46 (27.1) | ||
| Older and younger | 39 (7.4) | 13 (7.7) | ||
All values are mean (sd) unless stated otherwise; sd standard deviation, a Inclusive of 170 children in prospective cohort, BMI Body Mass Index; a Children included in the longitudinal analyses (compared with those providing valid activity data at age 6 only) were more likely to have a higher BMI at age 4 (16.8 vs. 16.1, p = 0.003) and be older at age 6 (6.7 vs. 6.6 years, p = 0.001); b Mothers providing data at both time points (vs. aged 6 only) were more likely to have a higher BMI (26.7 vs. 24.4 kg/m2, p = 0.03) and have left school later (29.4% vs. 26.8% leaving school after 18 years p = 0.04)