Table 1.
Characteristics of participating families
| All | Sweden | Romania | Spain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Families | n = 78 | n = 23 | n = 25 | n = 30 |
| Person interviewed, first interview, n (%) | ||||
| Mother | 63 (81) | 13 (56) | 21 (84) | 29 (97) |
| Father | 9 (12) | 8 (35) | – | 1 (3) |
| Both parents | 2 (3) | 2 (9) | – | – |
| Other person | 4 (5) | – | 4 (16) | – |
| Person interviewed, second interview, n (%) | n = 68 | n = 20 | n = 23 | n = 25 |
| Mother | 53 (12) | 11 (55) | 19 (83) | 23 (92) |
| Father | 8 (78) | 7 (35) | – | 1 (4) |
| Both parents | 2 (3) | 2 (10) | – | – |
| Other person | 5 (7) | – | 4 (17) | 1 (4) |
| Child | ||||
| Gender (girl), n (%) | 47 (60) | 15 (65) | 13 (52) | 19 (63) |
| Age at interview 1 (years), mean (SD) | 5.5 (1.3) | 4.8 (1.2) | 5.8 (1.0) | 5.7 (1.5) |
| Interview 1 | ||||
| Child weight and height measures, derived within ±4 months of the interview at, n (%) | n = 67 | n = 22 | n = 25 | n = 20 |
| Baseline or close to treatment start | 9 (14) | 9 (41) | – | – |
| After three to six months of treatment | 23 (34) | 6 (27) | 10 (40) | 7 (35) |
| After nine to 11 months of treatment | 27 (40) | 7 (32) | 11 (44) | 9 (45) |
| After 15 months of treatment | 4 (6) | – | – | 4 (20) |
| Measured outside the study - had not received treatment | 4 (6) | – | 4 (16) | – |
| Weight status, n (%) | ||||
| Normal weight | 1 (2) | – | 1 (4) | – |
| Overweight | 10 (15) | 6 (27) | 2 (8) | 2 (10) |
| Obesity | 25 (37) | 9 (41) | 9 (36) | 7 (35) |
| Severe obesity | 31 (46) | 7 (32) | 13 (52) | 11 (55) |
| BMI z-score, mean (SD) | 3.1 (1.1) | 2.7 (0.8) | 3.1 (1.3) | 3.4 (1.0) |
| Interview 2 | ||||
| Child weight and height measures, derived within ±4 months of the interview, n (%) | n = 59 | n = 20 | n = 23 | n = 16 |
| After three to six months of treatment | 8 (13) | 6 (30) | 2 (9) | – |
| After nine to 11 months of treatment | 21 (35) | 8 (40) | 6 (26) | 7 (44) |
| After 15 to 17 months of treatment | 23 (38) | 6 (30) | 11 (48) | 6 (38) |
| After 21 months of treatment | 4 (7) | – | – | 3 (19) |
| Measured outside the study - had not received treatment | 4 (7) | – | 4 (17) | – |
| Weight status, n (%) | ||||
| Normal weight | 3 (5) | 1 (5) | 2 (9) | – |
| Overweight | 8 (14) | 6 (30) | 1 (4) | 1 (6) |
| Obesity | 19 (32) | 9 (45) | 9 (39) | 1 (6) |
| Severe obesity | 29 (49) | 4 (20) | 11 (48) | 14 (88) |
| BMI z-score, mean (SD) | 3.0 (1.0) | 2.5 (0.9) | 2.9 (1.1) | 3.5 (0.8) |
| Change in BMI z-score between interview 1 and 2, mean (SD) | - 0.06 (0.7) | - 0.1 (0.6) | - 0.2 (0.7) | 0.18 (0.5) |
| Mother | ||||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | n = 71 | n = 21 | n = 21 | n = 29 |
| 38.4 (5.7) | 38.7 (6.3) | 37.1 (4.8) | 39.3 (5.8) | |
| Born abroad, n (%) | n = 72 | n = 21 | n = 24 | n = 27 |
| 23 (32) | 15 (71) | 0 | 8 (30) | |
| Weight status, n (%) | n = 68 | n = 19 | n = 22 | n = 27 |
| Normal weight | 18 (26) | 7 (37) | 4 (18) | 7 (26) |
| Overweight | 29 (43) | 8 (42) | 13 (59) | 8 (30) |
| Obesity | 14 (21) | 3 (16) | 3 (14) | 8 (30) |
| Severe obesity | 7 (10) | 1 (5) | 5 (9) | 4 (14) |
| Education level, n (%) | n = 72 | n = 21 | n = 22 | n = 29 |
| University degree | 38 (53) | 11 (52) | 15 (68) | 12 (41) |
| Senior high school diploma | 14 (19) | 5 (24) | 4 (18) | 5 (17) |
| Vocational diploma | 11 (15) | 3 (14) | 2 (9) | 6 (21) |
| Finished compulsory school | 9 (13) | 2 (10) | 1 (5) | 6 (21) |
| Employment, n (%) | n = 70 | n = 21 | n = 22 | n = 27 |
| Full-time | 25 (36) | 13 (61) | 9 (41) | 3 (11) |
| Part-time | 26 (37) | 3 (14) | 5 (23) | 18 (67) |
| Student | 2 (3) | 2 (10) | – | – |
| Parental leave/sick leave | 4 (6) | 1 (5) | 3 (14) | – |
| Unemployed | 5 (7) | 2 (10) | 1 (5) | 2 (7) |
| Other | 8 (11) | – | 4 (17) | 4 (15) |
| Father | ||||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | n = 68 | n = 23 | n = 17 | n = 28 |
| 41.0 (5.7) | 40.7 (6.7) | 39.6 (6.1) | 42.1 (4.5) | |
| Born abroad, n (%) | n = 64 | n = 22 | n = 17 | n = 25 |
| 18 (28) | 13 (59) | 0 (0) | 5 (20) | |
| Weight status, n (%) | n = 64 | (n = 22) | (n = 16) | (n = 26) |
| Normal weight | 9 (14) | 7 (32) | 2 (12.5) | – |
| Overweight | 25 (39) | 7 (32) | 4 (25) | 14 (54) |
| Obesity | 19 (30) | 4 (18) | 8 (50) | 7 (27) |
| Severe obesity | 11 (17) | 4 (18) | 2 (12.5) | 5 (19) |
| Education level, n (%) | n = 67 | (n = 22) | (n = 17) | (n = 28) |
| University degree | 26 (39) | 12 (55) | 6 (35) | 8 (29) |
| Senior high school diploma | 13 (19) | 4 (18) | 4 (24) | 5 (18) |
| Vocational diploma | 10 (15) | 4 (18) | 2 (12) | 4 (14) |
| Finished compulsory school | 14 (21) | 2 (9) | 5 (29) | 7 (25) |
| Primary school | 4 (6) | – | – | 4 (14) |
| Employment, n (%) | (n = 66) | (n = 21) | (n = 17) | (n = 28) |
| Full-time | 46 (70) | 19 (90) | 15 (88) | 12 (43) |
| Part-time | 12 (18) | 1 (5) | 1 (6) | 10 (36) |
| Parental leave/Sick leave | 2 (3) | 1 (5) | 1 (6) | – |
| Unemployed | 2 (3) | – | – | 2 (7) |
| Other | 4 (6) | – | – | 4 (14) |
Persons interviewed other than parents were grandmother, stepmother and foster parents. In two Swedish families both parents were interviewed. Child weight status was calculated based on available weight and height measurements performed at the most 4 months before or after the interviews. Children’s weight status was classified as normal weight, overweight, obesity and severe obesity according to international age and gender adjusted cut-offs for BMI (International Obesity Task Force, IOTF). The same weight status classifications for BMI z-scores are, for boys > −1.01 < 1.31; ≥ 1.31 < 2.29; ≥ 2.29 ≤ 2.93 and ≥ 2.93 respectively, and for girls > −0.98 < 1.24; ≥ 1.24 < 2.19; ≥ 2.19 < 2.82 and ≥ 2.82 respectively. Parental characteristics are available data from baseline. The parents’ weight status was classified as normal weight (> 18.5 < 25), overweight (≥ 25 < 30), obesity (≥ 30 < 35) and severe obesity (≥ 35) according to the World Health Organization’s reference values for BMI. Other forms of occupation statuses mentioned were seasonal work and housewife
Weight status measurements of 10 children from the Spanish sample were excluded as they were taken more than 4 months before or after interview 1. For interview 2 one additional child’s measurement was excluded for the same reason. Other missing values were due to incomplete data collection
Abbreviations: SD standard deviation, BMI Body mass index