The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Parental nonstandard work schedules during infancy and children’s BMI trajectories

Parental nonstandard work schedules during infancy and children’s BMI trajectories
Parental nonstandard work schedules during infancy and children’s BMI trajectories
Background: Empirical evidence has demonstrated adverse associations between parental nonstandard work schedules (i.e., evenings, nights, or weekends) and child developmental outcomes. However, there are mixed findings concerning the relationship between parental nonstandard employment and children’s body mass index (BMI), and few studies have incorporated information on paternal work schedules.

Objective: This paper investigated BMI trajectories from early to middle childhood (ages 3–11) by parental work schedules at 9 months of age, using nationally representative cohort data from the United Kingdom. This study is the first to examine the link between nonstandard work schedules and children’s BMI in the United Kingdom.

Methods: We used data from the Millennium Cohort Study (2001‒2013, n = 13,021) to estimate trajectories in BMI, using data from ages 3, 5, 7, and 11 years. Joint parental work schedules and a range of biological, socioeconomic, and psychosocial covariates were assessed in the initial interviews at 9 months.

Results: Compared to children in two-parent families where parents worked standard shifts, we found steeper BMI growth trajectories for children in two-parent families where both parents worked nonstandard shifts and children in single-parent families whose mothers worked a standard shift. Fathers’ shift work, compared to standard shifts, was independently associated with significant increases in BMI.

Conclusions: Future public health initiatives focused on reducing the risk of rapid BMI gain in childhood can potentially consider the disruptions to family processes resulting from working nonstandard hours.

Contribution: Children in families in which both parents work nonstandard schedules had steeper BMI growth trajectories across the first decade of life. Fathers’ nonstandard shifts were independently associated with increases in BMI.
709-726
Zilanawala, Afshin
dddbeee8-798a-441c-bb79-f0d3908647dd
Abell, Jessica
e9556ff1-2099-44de-9643-c018d3d70b75
Bell, Steven
b3c6d282-d989-4455-8983-61cb506e073e
Webb, Elizabeth A
1a99a7be-5e07-4e0a-9b69-7f5dca27d1f0
Lacey, Rebecca E.
d13b549f-2038-4306-b00c-39a000e957f6
Zilanawala, Afshin
dddbeee8-798a-441c-bb79-f0d3908647dd
Abell, Jessica
e9556ff1-2099-44de-9643-c018d3d70b75
Bell, Steven
b3c6d282-d989-4455-8983-61cb506e073e
Webb, Elizabeth A
1a99a7be-5e07-4e0a-9b69-7f5dca27d1f0
Lacey, Rebecca E.
d13b549f-2038-4306-b00c-39a000e957f6

Zilanawala, Afshin, Abell, Jessica, Bell, Steven, Webb, Elizabeth A and Lacey, Rebecca E. (2017) Parental nonstandard work schedules during infancy and children’s BMI trajectories. Demographic Research, 37 (22), 709-726, [22]. (doi:10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.22).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Background: Empirical evidence has demonstrated adverse associations between parental nonstandard work schedules (i.e., evenings, nights, or weekends) and child developmental outcomes. However, there are mixed findings concerning the relationship between parental nonstandard employment and children’s body mass index (BMI), and few studies have incorporated information on paternal work schedules.

Objective: This paper investigated BMI trajectories from early to middle childhood (ages 3–11) by parental work schedules at 9 months of age, using nationally representative cohort data from the United Kingdom. This study is the first to examine the link between nonstandard work schedules and children’s BMI in the United Kingdom.

Methods: We used data from the Millennium Cohort Study (2001‒2013, n = 13,021) to estimate trajectories in BMI, using data from ages 3, 5, 7, and 11 years. Joint parental work schedules and a range of biological, socioeconomic, and psychosocial covariates were assessed in the initial interviews at 9 months.

Results: Compared to children in two-parent families where parents worked standard shifts, we found steeper BMI growth trajectories for children in two-parent families where both parents worked nonstandard shifts and children in single-parent families whose mothers worked a standard shift. Fathers’ shift work, compared to standard shifts, was independently associated with significant increases in BMI.

Conclusions: Future public health initiatives focused on reducing the risk of rapid BMI gain in childhood can potentially consider the disruptions to family processes resulting from working nonstandard hours.

Contribution: Children in families in which both parents work nonstandard schedules had steeper BMI growth trajectories across the first decade of life. Fathers’ nonstandard shifts were independently associated with increases in BMI.

Text
37-22 - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (400kB)
Text
37-22 - Version of Record
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
Download (585kB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 20 July 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 September 2017
Published date: 19 September 2017

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 416645
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/416645
PURE UUID: 863fe024-3725-4852-93b8-fbe2d0dab5ed
ORCID for Afshin Zilanawala: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1439-6128

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 03 Jan 2018 17:33
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:46

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Jessica Abell
Author: Steven Bell
Author: Elizabeth A Webb
Author: Rebecca E. Lacey

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×