The effects of healthy lifestyle behaviors of mothers on obesity in preschool children

Objective: to determine the relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviours of mothers and obesity in their preschool children. methods: the cross-sectional study was performed in a district of istanbul,turkey,between april and june 2011,and comprised children aged 4-6 years attending public pre-schools and their mothers.. data was obtained using a questionnaire and healthy lifestyle behaviours scale-ii. number cruncher statistical system 2007 was used for statistical analysis. results: of the 531 children in the study,246(46.3%) were girls. overall prevalence of overweight was 136(25.6%),obesity 77(14.5%)overweight mothers were 126(23.7%),and obese mothers were 31(5.8%). the mothers of obese children obtained lower scores in the physical activity (p<0.05) and nutrition (p=0.001) subscales,and their total score was also lower (p<0.05). conclusions: lifestyle behaviours of mothers,especially with respect to nutrition and physical activity,may influence obesity among preschool children. strategies should be developed to improve the physical activity and eating habits of mothers. © 2015,pakistan medical association. all rights reserved.