Maternal and Early Childhood Risk Factors for Overweight and Obesity among Low-Income Predominantly Black Children at Age Five Years: A Prospective Cohort Study

Table 1

Characteristics of the participants and early childhood determinants of obesity at the age of 5 in Alabama (𝑛=740).

Variables	𝑛	%	Mean	SD	Median [range]
Maternal characteristics
Race
Black	570	77.0
White	170	23.0
Mother age at delivery (years)
Mean (SD)			24.0	(4.6)	23 [14–43]
<20	118	16.0
20–29	534	72.2
>29	88	11.89
Mother’s mean (SD) years of schooling			11.8	(2.2)	12 [0–18]
Mother completed 12th grade	487	66.2
Employed, %	374	61.1
Using food stamps, %	370	59.2
On welfare, %	191	34.0
Parity, mean (SD)			1.3	(0.8)	1 [0–9]
Prepregnancy BMI, mean (SD)			24.5	(7.1)	22.5 [13–50]
BMI groups
Low (<18.5)	100	14.7
Normal (18.5–24.9)	349	51.2
Overweight (25–29.9)	111	16.3
Obese (≥30)	121	17.8
Number of cigarettes smoked during 1st trimester			5.4	(9.5)	0 [0–63]
0 cigarette	454	61.4
1–12 cigarette (61–85th percentile)	179	24.2
≥13 cigarette (>85th percentile)	107	15.3
Alcohol intake during pregnancy, %	186	31.9
Child characteristics
Sex, % female	362	48.9
Birth weight (grams)
Mean (SD)			2892.6	(642.0)	2845 [640–5170]
<2500	176	23.8
2500–2999	251	33.9
3000–3900	285	38.5
4000	28	3.8
Above 85th percentile	50	6.7
Preterm, %	149	20.1
BMI at age 5 years
Normal weight (<85th percentile )	584	78.9
Overweight (85th to <95th )	85	11.5
Obese (≥95th percentile)	71	9.6