Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study

Using longitudinal data from the Western Australia Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study and both random-effects and fixed-effects models, this study examined the connection between maternal work hours and child overweight or obesity. Following children in two-parent families from early childhood to early...

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Main Authors: Li, Jianghong, Akaliyski, P., Schäfer, J., Kendall, Garth, Oddy, W., Stanley, F., Strazdins, L.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon Press 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54024
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author Li, Jianghong
Akaliyski, P.
Schäfer, J.
Kendall, Garth
Oddy, W.
Stanley, F.
Strazdins, L.
author_facet Li, Jianghong
Akaliyski, P.
Schäfer, J.
Kendall, Garth
Oddy, W.
Stanley, F.
Strazdins, L.
author_sort Li, Jianghong
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Using longitudinal data from the Western Australia Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study and both random-effects and fixed-effects models, this study examined the connection between maternal work hours and child overweight or obesity. Following children in two-parent families from early childhood to early adolescence, multivariate analyses revealed a non-linear and developmentally dynamic relationship. Among preschool children (ages 2 to 5), we found lower likelihood of child overweight and obesity when mothers worked 24 h or less per week, compared to when mothers worked 35 or more hours. This effect was stronger in low-to-medium income families. For older children (ages 8 to 14), compared to working 35–40 h a week, working shorter hours (1–24, 25–34) or longer hours (41 or more) was both associated with increases in child overweight and obesity. These non-linear effects were more pronounced in low-to-medium income families, particularly when fathers also worked long hours.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2017
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-540242020-05-27T01:45:45Z Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study Li, Jianghong Akaliyski, P. Schäfer, J. Kendall, Garth Oddy, W. Stanley, F. Strazdins, L. Using longitudinal data from the Western Australia Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study and both random-effects and fixed-effects models, this study examined the connection between maternal work hours and child overweight or obesity. Following children in two-parent families from early childhood to early adolescence, multivariate analyses revealed a non-linear and developmentally dynamic relationship. Among preschool children (ages 2 to 5), we found lower likelihood of child overweight and obesity when mothers worked 24 h or less per week, compared to when mothers worked 35 or more hours. This effect was stronger in low-to-medium income families. For older children (ages 8 to 14), compared to working 35–40 h a week, working shorter hours (1–24, 25–34) or longer hours (41 or more) was both associated with increases in child overweight and obesity. These non-linear effects were more pronounced in low-to-medium income families, particularly when fathers also worked long hours. 2017 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54024 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.05.046 Pergamon Press fulltext
spellingShingle Li, Jianghong
Akaliyski, P.
Schäfer, J.
Kendall, Garth
Oddy, W.
Stanley, F.
Strazdins, L.
Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study
title Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study
title_full Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study
title_fullStr Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study
title_full_unstemmed Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study
title_short Non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: Evidence from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study
title_sort non-linear relationship between maternal work hours and child body weight: evidence from the western australian pregnancy cohort (raine) study
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54024