Healthy lifestyle synergy and its association with overweight and obesity among parent-child dyads.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the association between parent-child lifestyle synergy and overweight/obesity, and to assess actor and partner effects of healthy lifestyles on weight status among parent-child dyads.

STUDY

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Data from 2538 Chinese parent-child dyads were analyzed. Children's healthy lifestyle scores (0-4) included dietary diversity, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) ≥60 min/day, screen time <2 h/day, and sufficient sleep. Parental scores (0-5) comprised dietary diversity, no tobacco or alcohol use, MVPA ≥150 min/week, and sufficient sleep. Lifestyle synergy was defined based on tertiles of lifestyle scores: synergistic ideal (both in the highest tertile), synergistic non-ideal (neither in the highest tertile), and non-synergistic (only one in the highest tertile). Overweight/obesity was defined by body mass index (BMI) percentile for children and BMI ≥24.0 kg/m2 (Chinese criteria) for parents. Multivariable logistic regression assessed associations between synergy status and overweight/obesity. Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) evaluated actor and partner effects.

RESULTS

Among 2538 dyads, 34.24% of children and 30.69% of parents had overweight/obesity. Compared to the synergistic non-ideal group, both the non-synergistic and synergistic ideal groups had lower odds of overweight/obesity in children (OR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.67-0.95; 0.70, 0.52-0.95) and parents (0.80, 0.67-0.97; 0.71, 0.51-0.98). APIM analyses showed significant actor effects and partner effects, with healthier lifestyles associated with lower odds of overweight/obesity in both individuals and their counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

Healthy lifestyles within parent-child dyads are associated with both individual and cross-partner weight status. Family-based interventions targeting both parents and children may be more effective than individual-focused approaches for preventing overweight and obesity.