| Aim.The overall aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the association between social disadvantage and relative overweight in young children and to find clues for preventive interventions. Objectives.(1) to study the associations between social disadvantage and the development of relative weight (BMI) in 2-5 year old children; (2) to study the association between social disadvantage and overweight inducing behaviors (food intake and physical activity), and the role of this association in explaining the higher prevalence of overweight in socially disadvantaged children; (3) to study the association between social disadvantage and selected environmental and individual factors, and the role of this association in explaining the higher prevalence of overweight inducing behaviors in socially disadvantaged children;(4) to develop risk profiles for early identification of children at risk for high relative weight, particularly in socially disadvantaged subgroups that are in need of specific intensive high-cost youth health care interventions. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in all age groups has at least doubled in the past 25 years. Body Mass Index (BMI) in childhood has a moderate to strong association with adult BMI. Adverse effects, resulting in considerable loss of healthy-life expectancy, have been shown in adults for whom however, hardly any effective treatment is available. Therefore attention has shifted to the prevention and management of overweight and obesity in children. Childhood overweight and obesity are far more prevalent in socially disadvantaged subgroups; this is already the case in preschool children. The pathways from social disadvantage to relative overweight in young children are largely unknown as was shown by a recent study of the US Preventive Services Task Force.The overall aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the association between social disadvantage and relative overweight in young children and to find clues for preventive interventions. The objectives of the study are: (1) to study the association between social disadvantage and the development of relative weight (BMI) in 2-5 year old children; (2) to study the association between social disadvantage and overweight inducing behaviors (food intake and physical activity), and the role of this association in explaining the higher prevalence of overweight in socially disadvantaged children; (3) to study the association between social disadvantage and selected environmental and individual factors, and the role of this association in explaining the higher prevalence of overweight inducing behaviors in socially disadvantaged children;(4) to develop risk profiles for early identification of children at risk for high relative weight, particularly in socially disadvantaged subgroups that are in need of specific intensive high-cost youth health care interventions.The study will be carried out within the Rotterdam Generation R prospective population-based cohort with 9,000 children included until now. Analyses will be done with standard multivariate (linear or logistic) regression techniques, multilevel (random) regression models and marginal structural source models. |
