Maternal and child factors associated with child body fatness in a Ghanaian cohort

Objective: We aimed to identify factors (child diet, physical activity; maternal BMI) associated with body composition of Ghanaian pre-school children. Design: Longitudinal analysis of the International Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements (iLiNS)-DYAD-Ghana randomized trial, which enrolled 1320 pregnant women at <= 20 weeks' gestation and followed them and their infants until 6 and 18 months postpartum, respectively. At follow-up, child age 4-6 years, we collected data on body composition (by H-2 dilution), physical activity and diet, extracted dietary patterns using factor analysis, and examined the association of children's percentage body fat with maternal and child factors by regression analysis. Setting: Eastern Region, Ghana. Participants: Children 4-6 years of age. Results: The analysis included 889 children with percentage body fat and dietary data at follow-up. We identified two major dietary patterns, a snacking and a cooked foods pattern. Percentage body fat was positively associated (standardized beta (se)) with maternal BMI at follow-up (0 center dot 10 (0 center dot 03); P = 0 center dot 003) and negatively associated with physical activity (-0 center dot 15 (0 center dot 05); P = 0 center dot 003, unadjusted for child gender), but not associated with the snacking (0 center dot 06 (0 center dot 03); P = 0 center dot 103) or cooked foods (-0 center dot 05 (0 center dot 07); P = 0 center dot 474) pattern. Boys were more active than girls (1470 v. 1314 mean vector magnitude counts/min; P < 0 center dot 0001) and had lower percentage body fat (13 center dot 8 v. 16 center dot 9 %; P < 0 center dot 0001). Conclusions: In this population, maternal overweight and child physical activity, especially among girls, may be key factors for addressing child overweight/obesity. We did not demonstrate a relationship between the dietary patterns and body fatness, which may be related to limitations of the dietary data available.