Association between Obesity and Parental Weight Status in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Objective:This study aims to assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) of children and that of their parents in a nationally-representative sample of Iranian population.Methods:This cross-sectional nationwide study was conducted in 2011-2012 among 6-18-year-old students and their parents living in 30 provinces of Iran. Socio-demographic information was collected. The BMI values of the children/adolescents were categorized according to the World Health Organization reference curves. Association between parental and student weight status was examined using ordinal regression models after adjustment for potential confounders.Results:Overall, 23043 children and adolescents and one of their parents participated in this study (50.7% boys, 73.4% urban status). Mean age of the subjects was 12.55±3.31 years. Mean BMI values of parents and children/adolescents were 27.0±4.57 and 18.8±4.4 kg/m2, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, overweight and/or obesity in students of both genders was found to be significantly associated with parental overweight and/or obesity. In those students who had obese parents, the odds ratio (OR) of being obese was 2.79 for boys [OR=2.79; 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.44-3.20] and 3.46 for girls (OR=3.46; 95% CI=3.03-3.94) compared to their peers with normal-weight parents. Boys with overweight parents were 1.7 times more overweight than their counterparts with normal-weight parents (OR=1.70; 95% CI=1.15-1.92). Similarly, girls who had overweight parents were more overweight compared to those with normal-weight parents (OR=2.00; 95% CI=1.77-2.25).Conclusion:Our findings highlight the importance of the shared family environment as a multi-factorial contributor to the childhood obesity epidemic and the necessity of implementing family-centered preventive programs.

Assessment of the Impact of Parental BMI on the Incidence of Overweight and Obesity in Children from Ukraine

“…A study involving children and parents from Iran confirms that parental obesity is a factor in childhood and adolescent obesity. Therefore, it is important to prevent obesity in children who have one or more obese parents [36].…”

Risk Factors for Obesity in Adolescents Living in Rural Areas of Buryatia: A Case-Control Study

“…The association of obesity in adolescents with maternal, but not paternal, BMI was a peculiar finding of the present study, because in the majority of other works, obesity was associated with overweight in both parents. (9,10) It can be suggested that the identified association is realized via the primary role of a mother in the formation of family ambience in rural communities, which, in its turn, determines the eating patterns and lifestyle of a child.…”

Obesity and associated risk factors in adolescents in rural areas of Buryatia, Russia

“…Наше исследование подтвердило известный факт сопряженности ожирения в детском и подростковом возрасте с семейной отягощенностью по данному заболеванию [7,[9][10]. Наличие такой связи сложно опосредуется взаимодействием генетических факторов с факторами семейного окружения, формирующими так называемое обесогенное поведение ребенка: низкая физическая активность, длительное экранное время, нездоровые паттерны питания, короткая продолжительность сна.…”

“…Наличие такой связи сложно опосредуется взаимодействием генетических факторов с факторами семейного окружения, формирующими так называемое обесогенное поведение ребенка: низкая физическая активность, длительное экранное время, нездоровые паттерны питания, короткая продолжительность сна. Как интересную находку нашего исследования следует отметить то, что мы, в отличие от большинства других исследователей, показавших связь избыточного веса детей с весом обоих родителей [10,11], обнаружили, что ожирение у сельских подростков связано с ИМТ их матерей, но не отцов. Результаты, сходные с полученными нами, были получены еще в двух исследованиях, в которых, к сожалению, не приведены данные о территории проживания включенных в выборку детей [7,9].…”