Characteristics of the total study population, by level of maternal academic qualification at birth of child (n=11 764)
| Degree plus % | Diploma % | A levels % | GCSE A-C % | GCSE D–G % | None % | Total % | p Value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overweight/obese at age 11 | 20.1 | 26.8 | 26.3 | 29.7 | 33.2 | 33.1 | 28.7 | <0.001 |
| Child sex | ||||||||
| Male | 52 | 54.9 | 50 | 52.6 | 51.7 | 51.8 | 52.2 | 0.56 |
| Female | 48 | 45.1 | 50 | 47.4 | 48.3 | 48.2 | 47.8 | |
| Child ethnicity | ||||||||
| White | 87.9 | 90.3 | 89.5 | 91.4 | 91.2 | 73.2 | 87.4 | <0.001 |
| Mixed | 3.8 | 2.4 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.1 | |
| Indian | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 1.6 | |
| Pakistani | 1 | 1 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 8.6 | 2.9 | |
| Bangladeshi | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 1.1 | |
| Black | 3.3 | 4 | 2.2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 5.4 | 2.9 | |
| Other ethnic group | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 1.1 | |
| Maternal age at MCS birth | ||||||||
| 14–19 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 10.3 | 18.7 | 17.3 | 9.8 | <0.001 |
| 20–24 | 2.8 | 10.7 | 16.2 | 20.5 | 28.7 | 27.7 | 18.8 | |
| 25–29 | 25.9 | 34 | 30.7 | 29.2 | 29.6 | 25.8 | 28.6 | |
| 30–34 | 43.1 | 35.4 | 30.7 | 26.5 | 16.7 | 18.7 | 27.6 | |
| 35+ | 28.1 | 18.7 | 17.2 | 13.5 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 15.1 | |
| Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight | ||||||||
| No | 78.1 | 70.1 | 71.1 | 68.4 | 67.2 | 69.3 | 70.5 | <0.001 |
| Yes | 21.9 | 29.9 | 28.9 | 31.6 | 32.8 | 30.7 | 29.5 | |
| Maternal smoking during pregnancy | ||||||||
| None | 96.5 | 89 | 87.6 | 75 | 63.4 | 53.8 | 75.4 | <0.001 |
| 1–10 cigs/day | 3.2 | 9.1 | 10.3 | 20.3 | 28.7 | 30.4 | 18.6 | |
| 11–20 cigs/day | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 7.2 | 12.6 | 4.9 | |
| >20 cigs/day | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 1.1 | |
| Children in household | ||||||||
| 1 | 49.8 | 45.4 | 43.9 | 40.3 | 45.7 | 31.8 | 41.6 | <0.001 |
| 2 or 3 | 46.7 | 51.4 | 51.8 | 53.2 | 47.8 | 50.1 | 50.7 | |
| 4 or more | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 18.1 | 7.7 | |
| Birthweight | ||||||||
| Normal | 94.8 | 92.2 | 93.4 | 91.6 | 93 | 88.9 | 92.1 | <0.001 |
| Low | 3.2 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 9.6 | 6.1 | |
| High | 1.9 | 2 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.9 | |
| Preterm | ||||||||
| No | 95.5 | 94.3 | 95.8 | 93.1 | 94.9 | 93.8 | 94.2 | 0.02 |
| Yes | 4.5 | 5.7 | 4.2 | 6.9 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 5.8 | |
| Caesarean section | ||||||||
| No | 75.1 | 76.7 | 79.9 | 80.6 | 80.2 | 83.9 | 79.9 | <0.001 |
| Yes | 24.9 | 23.3 | 20.1 | 19.4 | 19.8 | 16.1 | 20.1 | |
| Breastfeeding | ||||||||
| >4 months | 56.2 | 33.8 | 35.7 | 19.3 | 11.2 | 13.1 | 26.2 | <0.001 |
| <4 months | 36.9 | 46 | 45.1 | 43 | 37.5 | 33.4 | 40.1 | |
| Never | 6.9 | 20.2 | 19.2 | 37.7 | 51.2 | 53.5 | 33.7 | |
| Solid foods before 4 months | ||||||||
| No | 72.1 | 63.7 | 62.2 | 62.8 | 57.2 | 64.9 | 64 | <0.001 |
| Yes | 27.9 | 36.3 | 37.8 | 37.2 | 42.8 | 35.1 | 36 | |
*χ2. All figures are percentages adjusted for sampling design. Missing data, unadjusted frequency: Sex 414, Ethnicity 1490, Maternal age 426, Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight 2072, Smoking 461, Children in household 414, Birthweight 1492, Preterm 1615, C-section 414, Breastfeeding 1481, Solid foods 424.
MCS, Millennium Cohort Study.