Assari Shervin, Caldwell Cleopatra Howard, Zimmerman Marc A
Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Michigan, 4250 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2700 USA ; Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA ; Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 2846 SPH I, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 USA.
Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA ; Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 2846 SPH I, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 USA.
J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2015 May 28;14:47. doi: 10.1186/s40200-015-0176-8. eCollection 2015.
Most studies that have investigated the link between parenting behaviors and risk of obesity among offsprings have mostly used a cross-sectional design, enrolled Caucasian samples, focused on childhood obesity, and covered aspects of parenting behaviors that directly influence energy balance and food intake of the children. Thus, more longitudinal research is needed on how more general aspects of parenting influence obesity in young ethnic minority adults. The current longitudinal study aimed to test if baseline parental support predicts change in body mass index (BMI) of African Americans, and if this prediction varies based on gender of offspring.
The current study followed 227 young African American adults (109 male and 118 female) for 12 years from year 2000 (mean age 20) to year 2012 (mean age 32). All participants were enrolled from a disadvantaged urban area in the Midwest of the United States. Baseline demographics (age, gender), socio-economics (family structure, and parental employment), psychological symptoms (anxiety and depression), general parental support (maternal support, and paternal support) were measured. BMI was measured at baseline and at follow up. We used gender-specific linear regressions to test the predictive role of baseline paternal and maternal support (year 2000) on change in BMI (from 2000 to 2012).
Regression analysis showed that among female African American young adults, high baseline maternal support was predictive of a lower increase in BMI from 2000 to 2012. The association remained significant while all covariates were in the model. We could not find such an association for male African American young adults.
High maternal support appears to be protective against increases in BMI among African American female young adults. As parental support is a modifiable factor within available evidence-based interventions that enhance parenting, it should be included in obesity prevention programs for African American women. Policies and programs should support African American mothers in disadvantaged neighborhoods to enable them to provide high levels of parental support for their young adult daughters. Future research should test the efficacy of such programs and policies for reducing obesity among African American women.
大多数研究亲子行为与后代肥胖风险之间联系的研究大多采用横断面设计，纳入的是白种人样本，关注儿童期肥胖，并涵盖了直接影响儿童能量平衡和食物摄入的亲子行为方面。因此，需要更多纵向研究来探讨更广泛的亲子方面如何影响年轻少数族裔成年人的肥胖问题。当前的纵向研究旨在检验基线期父母的支持是否能预测非裔美国人的体重指数（BMI）变化，以及这种预测是否因后代性别而异。
本研究对227名年轻非裔美国成年人（109名男性和118名女性）进行了为期12年的跟踪，从2000年（平均年龄20岁）到2012年（平均年龄32岁）。所有参与者均来自美国中西部一个弱势城市地区。测量了基线人口统计学特征（年龄、性别）、社会经济状况（家庭结构和父母就业情况）、心理症状（焦虑和抑郁）以及一般父母支持（母亲支持和父亲支持）。在基线期和随访时测量BMI。我们使用特定性别的线性回归来检验基线期父亲和母亲支持（2000年）对BMI变化（从2000年到2012年）的预测作用。
回归分析表明，在非裔美国年轻女性中，基线期母亲的高支持能预测2000年至2012年BMI的较低增长。当所有协变量都纳入模型时，这种关联仍然显著。我们在非裔美国年轻男性中未发现这种关联。
母亲的高支持似乎能预防非裔美国年轻女性的BMI增加。由于父母支持是现有基于证据的增强养育干预措施中一个可改变的因素，应将其纳入针对非裔美国女性的肥胖预防项目中。政策和项目应支持处于弱势社区的非裔美国母亲，使她们能够为成年女儿提供高水平的父母支持。未来的研究应测试此类项目和政策在降低非裔美国女性肥胖率方面的效果。
