Association between Parents' Social Capital and Physical Status in Preschool Children in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Multicentre Study

Abstract

Objective: According to a World Health Organization report, in 2016, 41 million young children globally were overweight or obese. The connection between parents' social capital and their children's health has been studied, but associations between parental social capital and children's weight are largely unexamined. Hence, we assessed the relationship between preschool children's weight and parents' social capital.

Methods: We used BMI assessment data for 357 children (46.5% girls; mean age 5.3 years) in Japan. We examined parents' structural and cognitive social capital using a self-report questionnaire.

Results: Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed associations between parents' social capital and children's BMI. Seventy-two (20.2%) of the children had poor BMI (body mass index; overweight or thin). Interpersonal trust was significantly associated with normal BMI in children after adjustment for all confounding factors (OR 2.68; 95% CI, 1.33-5.44; P = .006) and was independently associated with other social capital factors, including norm of reciprocity (OR 3.38; 95% CI, 1.68-6.79; P < .001) and trust in organization (OR 1.24; 95% CI, 1.09-1.42; P = .001).

Conclusion: Social capital factors were independently associated with each other. Japanese parents' high social capital was an independent predictor of normal BMI among preschool children.

Keywords: Body mass index; Health literacy; Preschool; Social capital; Thinness.