Associations of Childcare Arrangements with Adiposity Measures in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The GUSTO Study

Wong, Beverly Wen-Xin; Toh, Jia Ying; Sugianto, Ray; Chia, Airu; Tint, Mya Thway; Yuan, Wen Lun; Padmapriya, Natarajan; Lança, Carla; Saw, Seang-Mei; Lee, Yung Seng; Shek, Lynette Pei-Chi; Tan, Kok Hian; Yap, Fabian; Godfrey, Keith M.; Chong, Yap-Seng; Müller-Riemenschneider, Falk; Eriksson, Johan G.; Chan, Shiao-Yng; Chong, Mary Foong-Fong

doi:10.3390/ijerph182212178

Open AccessArticle

Associations of Childcare Arrangements with Adiposity Measures in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The GUSTO Study

by

Beverly Wen-Xin Wong

^1,†,

Jia Ying Toh

^1,†

,

Ray Sugianto

²

,

Airu Chia

²

,

Mya Thway Tint

^1,3,

Wen Lun Yuan

^1,4

,

Natarajan Padmapriya

^2,3,

Carla Lança

^5,6,7

,

Seang-Mei Saw

^2,5,8,

Yung Seng Lee

^1,9,10,

Lynette Pei-Chi Shek

^9,11,

Kok Hian Tan

^8,12

,

Fabian Yap

^8,13,14

,

Keith M. Godfrey

^15,16

,

Yap-Seng Chong

^1,3,

Falk Müller-Riemenschneider

²,

Johan G. Eriksson

^1,3,17,18,

Shiao-Yng Chan

^1,3 and

Mary Foong-Fong Chong

^1,2,*

¹

Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 117609, Singapore

²

Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, 12 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117549, Singapore

³

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119228, Singapore

⁴

Inserm, INRAE, CRESS, Université de Paris, F-75004 Paris, France

⁵

Singapore Eye Research Institute, 20 College Rd, Singapore 169856, Singapore

⁶

Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa (ESTeSL), Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, 1549-020 Lisbon, Portugal

⁷

Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1099-085 Lisbon, Portugal

⁸

Graduate Medical School, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore 169857, Singapore

⁹

Department of Pediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119228, Singapore

¹⁰

Division of Paediatric Endocrinology, Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children’s Medical Institute, National University Hospital, National University Health System, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore 119074, Singapore

¹¹

Department of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children’s Medical Institute, National University Hospital, National University Health System, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore 119074, Singapore

¹²

Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 229899, Singapore

¹³

Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 229899, Singapore

¹⁴

Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 59 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 636921, Singapore

¹⁵

Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Tremona Rd, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK

¹⁶

Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, National Institute for Health Research, University Hospital Southampton, NHS Foundation Trust, Tremona Rd, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK

¹⁷

Folkhälsan Research Center, Topeliuksenkatu 20, 00250 Helsinki, Finland

¹⁸

Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Tukholmankatu 8 B, 00290 Helsinki, Finland

Show full affiliation list

Hide full affiliation list

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(22), 12178; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212178

Submission received: 22 October 2021 / Revised: 17 November 2021 / Accepted: 18 November 2021 / Published: 19 November 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Patterns and Health Outcomes in Children and Adolescents)

Download

Browse Figure

Versions Notes

Abstract

Childcare arrangements shape behavioural patterns that influence the risk of childhood obesity. However, little is known of its influence on childhood obesity in Singapore. We aim to examine the associations between childcare arrangements at the age of 5 years and childhood adiposity at age 6 years. Children from the GUSTO study were grouped into three childcare arrangements at age 5: full-time centre-based childcare (FC), partial centre-based with parental care (PCP), and partial centre-based with non-parents (grandparents and domestic helpers) as caregivers (PCN). Diet, physical activity and sedentary behaviour information were collected at age 5, while anthropometric measurements were collected at age 6. Associations were analysed using multivariable regression models. Among 540 children, those in PCN had higher BMI z-scores (β: 0.34; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.66), greater sum of skinfold thicknesses (mm) (β: 3.75; 95% CI: 0.53, 6.97) and were 3.55 times (95% CI: 1.78, 7.05) more likely to be overweight/obese than those in FC. Adiposity measures in PCP children did not differ from those in FC. PCN children were reported to have more screen time and greater fast-food intake. Children in PCN tended to have higher adiposity measures. Greater engagement of non-parental caregivers should be considered in interventions targeting child obesity.

Keywords: childcare; adiposity; preschool; caregiver type; Asian

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Wong, B.W.-X.; Toh, J.Y.; Sugianto, R.; Chia, A.; Tint, M.T.; Yuan, W.L.; Padmapriya, N.; Lança, C.; Saw, S.-M.; Lee, Y.S.; et al. Associations of Childcare Arrangements with Adiposity Measures in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The GUSTO Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 12178. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212178

AMA Style

Wong BW-X, Toh JY, Sugianto R, Chia A, Tint MT, Yuan WL, Padmapriya N, Lança C, Saw S-M, Lee YS, et al. Associations of Childcare Arrangements with Adiposity Measures in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The GUSTO Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(22):12178. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212178

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wong, Beverly Wen-Xin, Jia Ying Toh, Ray Sugianto, Airu Chia, Mya Thway Tint, Wen Lun Yuan, Natarajan Padmapriya, Carla Lança, Seang-Mei Saw, Yung Seng Lee, and et al. 2021. "Associations of Childcare Arrangements with Adiposity Measures in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The GUSTO Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 22: 12178. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212178

APA Style

Wong, B. W.-X., Toh, J. Y., Sugianto, R., Chia, A., Tint, M. T., Yuan, W. L., Padmapriya, N., Lança, C., Saw, S.-M., Lee, Y. S., Shek, L. P.-C., Tan, K. H., Yap, F., Godfrey, K. M., Chong, Y.-S., Müller-Riemenschneider, F., Eriksson, J. G., Chan, S.-Y., & Chong, M. F.-F. (2021). Associations of Childcare Arrangements with Adiposity Measures in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The GUSTO Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(22), 12178. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212178

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Associations of Childcare Arrangements with Adiposity Measures in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Cohort: The GUSTO Study

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI