Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Childhood obesity has become a significant public health challenge, with its prevalence rising globally. Obesity is defined as a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex. This study aimed to group maternal characteristics during pregnancy and assess their association with childhood obesity from ages 2 to 15 years. METHODS: Data from 4,060 mothers in the B cohort (wave 1, children aged 0-1 year) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) were analysed to examine maternal characteristics during pregnancy and their association with childhood obesity across waves 2 to 8 (ages 2-15). Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to identify distinct clusters of maternal health, lifestyle, and dietary factors as exposure variables. Associations between these clusters and childhood obesity, defined using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) BMI ≥ 95th percentile, were assessed using Chi-square tests and multinomial logistic regression were employed to examine the identified clusters impact on childhood obesity by adjusting maternal factors (employment, education, income,) and child-specific factors (physical activity, diet, energy drink consumption). RESULTS: Five clusters emerged: (1) Health Issues with High Mental Health, Medical Needs, and Substance Use, (2) Healthiest Profile with Minimal Dietary Exclusions and Low Medical Risks, (3) Moderate Health Risks with High Smoking Prevalence, (4) Nutritional Exclusions and High Incidence of Other Birth Types, and (5) Severe Health Risks with High Obesity and Medical Dependency. Cluster 5 exhibited the highest risk of childhood obesity, followed by Clusters 3, 4, and 1. Cluster 2 consistently showed the lowest obesity risk. Socioeconomic and child factors mediated the obesity risks in Clusters 1 and 4, with risks persisting for Cluster 3, particularly in later childhood. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the utility of LCA in identifying maternal factors influencing childhood obesity and underscores the importance of promoting maternal health, lifestyle, and dietary improvements to mitigate obesity risks in children. Targeted interventions addressing high-risk maternal profiles could be instrumental in reducing childhood obesity prevalence.