Association between family structure,maternal education level,and maternal employment with sedentary lifestyle in primary school-age children

Objective: to determine the association between family structure,maternal education level,and maternal employment with sedentary lifestyle in primary school-age children. method: data were obtained from 897 children aged 6 to 12 years. a questionnaire was used to collect information. body mass index (bmi) was determined using the ageand gender-specific centers for disease control and prevention definition. children were categorized as: normal weight (5th percentile ≤ bmi < 85th percentile),at risk for overweight (85th ≤ bmi < 95th percentile),overweight (≥ 95th percentile). for the analysis,overweight was defined as bmi at or above the 85th percentile for each gender. adjusted odds ratios (adjusted ors) for physical inactivity were determined using a logistic regression model. results: the prevalence of overweight was 40.7%,and of sedentary lifestyle,57.2%. the percentage of non-intact families was 23.5%. approximately 48.7% of the mothers had a non-acceptable educational level,and 38.8% of the mothers worked outside of the home. the logistic regression model showed that living in a non-intact family household (adjusted or = 1.67; 95% ci = 1.04-2.66) is associated with sedentary lifestyle in overweight children. in the group of normal weight children,logistic regression analysis show that living in a non-intact family,having a mother with a non-acceptable education level,and having a mother who works outside of the home were not associated with sedentary lifestyle. conclusion: living in a non-intact family,more than low maternal educational level and having a working mother,appears to be associated with sedentary lifestyle in overweight primary school-age children. © 2013 sociedade brasileira de pediatria. published by elsevier editora ltda. all rights reserved.