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Table 1 The basic characteristics of participating children

From: Association of waist circumference with blood pressure and familial dietary habits in preschool children: a cross-sectional study in northeastern China

 

Males (n = 384)

Females (n = 221)

P

Children’s characteristics

 Age (years), \(\overline{\mathrm{X}}\left(\mathrm{S}\right)\)

4.4 (1.0)

4.4 (1.2)

0.919

 Birth weight (kg), \(\overline{\mathrm{X}}\left(\mathrm{S}\right)\)

3.5 (0.5)

3.4 (0.4)

0.652

Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, median (P25, P75)

 Height (cm)

111.4 (105.0, 118.0)

110.5 (102.5, 117.2)

0.227

 Weight (kg)

10.4 (8.8, 12.6)

10.1 (8.3, 12.2)

0.094

 WC (cm)

54.9 (51.0, 62.0)

55.0 (51.0, 62.0)

0.748

 BMI

16.8 (15.4, 19.5)

16.7 (15.4, 19.2)

0.396

 WHtR

0.5 (0.5, 0.6)

0.50 (0.5, 0.6)

0.529

 DBP (mmHg)

90.0 (85.0, 99.0)

90.0 (84.0, 96.0)

0.273

 SBP (mmHg)

60.0 (50.0, 62.0)

60.0 (50.0, 60.0)

0.139

Weight and blood pressure status, n (%)

 Healthy weight

188 (49.0)

114 (51.6)

 

 Overweight

54 (14.1)

31 (14.0)

0.797

 Obesity

142 (37.0)

76 (34.4)

 

 WHtR ≥0.5

197 (51.3)

111 (50.2)

0.841

 WC ≥ P80

209 (54.5)

132 (59.7)

0.184

 Elevated BP

69 (18.0)

38 (17.2)

0.783

Food preferences, n (%)

 Puffed foods ≥ once per week

175 (45.7)

107 (48.6)

0.505

 Deep-fried foods ≥ twice per week

59 (15.3)

33 (15.1)

0.947

 Potatoes and other root vegetables ≥4 times per week

168 (43.8)

94 (42.5)

0.769

 Milk ≥6 times per week

179 (46.6)

107 (48.4)

0.729

 Nuts ≥3 times per week

299 (77.9)

180 (81.4)

0.365

 Sweets ≥3 times per week

101 (26.3)

60 (27.1)

0.82

 Eating wheat and wheat products as their staple food

54 (14.1)

36 (16.3)

0.459

Eating habits, n (%)

 Appetite

  Good

239 (62.2)

131 (59.3)

 

  Average

135 (35.2)

77 (34.8)

0.139

  Poor

10 (2.6)

13 (5.4)

 

 Eating speed

  Fast

90 (23.4)

41 (18.5)

 

  Average

220 (57.3)

123 (55.7)

0.088

  Slow

74 (19.3)

57 (25.8)

 

 Eating while watching TV

167 (43.5)

93 (42.1)

0.648

 Snacking while watching TV

142 (37.0)

98 (44.5)

0.067

Other behaviours, median (P25, P75)

 Sleep (hours)

11.0 (10.1, 12.0)

11.0 (10.0, 12.0)

0.124

 Physical activity (hours)

1.0 (1.0, 2.0)

1.0 (1.0, 2.0)

0.601

Parental characteristics

 Parental BMI, median (P25, P75)

  Maternal BMI

22.0 (20.3, 24.1)

22.0 (20.4, 23.9)

0.730

  Paternal BMI

25.1 (22.8, 27.8)

25.5 (23.1, 28.0)

0.876

Familial monthly income (Â¥), n (%)

  < 3000

22 (5.7)

20 (9.0)

0.237

 3000 to 5000

90 (23.4)

45 (20.4)

 

 5000 to 8000

130 (33.9)

65 (29.4)

 

  > 8000

142 (37.0)

91 (41.2)

 

Parental education level, n (%)

 Secondary school or less

110 (28.7)

54 (24.4)

0.510

 College or Bachelor’s degree

240 (62.5)

145 (65.6)

 

 Graduate degree

34 (8.9)

22 (10.0)

 

Maternal education level, n (%)

 Secondary school or less

104 (27.1)

54 (24.4)

0.298

 College or Bachelor’s degree

242 (63.0)

152 (68.8)

 

 Graduate degree

38 (9.9)

15 (6.8)

 

Parental control and guidance, n (%)

 Parental encouragement to eat a diverse range of foods

202 (52.6)

116 (52.5)

0.978

 Using food as a reward

137 (35.7)

88 (39.8)

0.434

 Limiting the amounts of snacks

324 (84.4)

173 (78.3)

0.103

  1. SD standard deviation, BMI body-mass index, WC waist circumference, WHtR wasit-to-height ratio, DPB diastolic blood pressure, SBP systolic blood pressure, P percentile, BP blood pressure, ZBMI standardized z-score values of BMI, ZWC standardized z-score values of WC, ZWHtR standardized z-score values of WHtR
  2. *significant at P <  0.05