Parental determinants associated with early growth after the first year of life by race and ethnicity

OBJECTIVE: To investigate maternal and parental factors associated with changes in children's body mass index percentile (BMI-P) from 12 to 24 months. METHODS: Data from a prospective cohort of racially and ethnically diverse mothers, fathers, and children (n = 245) were used. Changes in BMI-P from 12 to 24 months of age were examined using height and weight measurements collected at both times. Separate longitudinal mixed-effects models with maximum likelihood were introduced to examine the determinants introduced by mothers and determinants from both parents among all children, and by race and ethnicity. RESULTS: Models that examine maternal and parental factors showed that children's overall BMI-P decreased from 12 to 24 months [β = −4.85, 95% confidence interval (CI), −7.47 to −2.23]. Stratified tests showed that White children whose parents graduated high school or completed a 4-year college degree or higher had greater decreases in BMI-P than White children born to parents with less than high school education (β = −60.39, 95% CI, −115.05 to −5.72; β = −61.49, 95% CI, −122.44 to −0.53). Among Hispanic/Latinx children, mean BMI-P significantly decreased from 12 to 24 months (β = −7.12, 95% CI, −11.59 to −2.64). Mother's older age (β = 1.83, 95% CI, 0.29–3.36) and child female sex (β = 11.21, 95% CI, 1.61–20.82) were associated with gains in children's BMI-P, while father's older age was associated with decreases (β = −1.19, 95% CI, −2.30 to −0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Parental determinants associated with children's early growth varied by children's sex and racial and ethnic background. Results highlight the importance of understanding racial and ethnicity-specific obesity risks and including fathers in research.