Weights of parents and infants: Is there a relationship?

Stunkard, A. J.; Berkowitz, R. I.; Stallings, V.; Cater, JR

doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0800785

Cited by 40 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…In most cases overweight parents create and sustain an 'obesogenic' environment (that is, high-caloric diets and physical inactivity) for themselves and their children. 14 Although other similar studies have reported a much stronger and significant risk relationship between maternal and Perinatal predictors of overweight at preschoolers G Moschonis et al childhood overweight, 14,48 such an association was not observed in the present study. This could be attributed to a higher underreporting of body weight by children's mothers than fathers and is reflected to the much higher percentage of children having an overweight father than children having an overweight mother (43.2 vs 8.1%), thus representing a limitation of the present study.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 76%

Perinatal predictors of overweight at infancy and preschool childhood: the GENESIS study

2007

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Objective: To identify those perinatal parameters and characteristics predisposing children to an increased risk of overweight during infancy and preschool years. Design: The analyses were performed using data from the Growth, Exercise and Nutrition Epidemiological Study In preSchoolers. Subjects: A representative sample of 2374 Greek preschoolers 1-5 years old. Measurements: Anthropometric data, such as body weight, recumbent length and standing height, were obtained by using standard procedures and measuring equipment. Structured interviews were conducted with both parents to collect information on anthropometric, demographic, medical and behavioral data. Finally, children's anthropometric data at birth, 6 and 12 months of age were recorded from their birth certificates and medical records. Results: Children born large for gestational age were 4.59 and 2.19 times more likely for being overweight at 6 and 12 months of age, respectively, than children born appropriate for gestational age. On the other hand, children that were exclusively breastfed were 0.49 and 0.54 times less likely for being overweight at 6 and 12 months of age, respectively, than children that were exclusively formula fed. Furthermore, 3-to 5-year-old children born to mothers who were both active and passive smokers during pregnancy were 1.79 times more likely of being overweight compared to children born to nonsmoking mothers. Finally, having an overweight father significantly increased the likelihood of childhood overweight at 12 months, 1-3 and 3-5 years of age. Conclusion: Our findings showed that some of the perinatal parameters and characteristics examined in the current study predict overweight at infancy, while others at preschool years. Priority should be given to size at birth, breastfeeding, maternal smoking during pregnancy and parental overweight, when developing public health strategies to reduce the prevalence of childhood overweight and related chronic disease later in life.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 76%

Perinatal predictors of overweight at infancy and preschool childhood: the GENESIS study

2007

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“…Stunkard et al 38 suggested that this risk relationship does not emerge until at least 3 to 4 years of age, but the results here show that children who were born to obese mothers were twice as likely to be obese by 2 years of age.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 44%

Predicting Preschooler Obesity at Birth: The Role of Maternal Obesity in Early Pregnancy

2004

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ABSTRACT. Objective. Knowing risk factors at birth for the development of childhood obesity could help to identify children who are in need of early obesity prevention efforts. The objective of this study was to determine whether children whose mothers were obese in early pregnancy were more likely to be obese at 2 to 4 years of age.Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 8494 low-income children who were enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Ohio and were followed from the first trimester of gestation until 24 to 59 months of age. Measured height and weight data from WIC were linked to birth certificate records for children who were born in the years 1992-1996. Obesity among 2-to 4-yearolds was defined as a body mass index (BMI) >95th percentile for age and gender. Mothers were classified as obese (BMI >30 kg/m 2 ) or nonobese (BMI <30 kg/m 2 ) on the basis of BMI measured in the first trimester of the child's gestation.Results. The prevalence of childhood obesity was 9.5%, 12.5%, and 14.8% at 2, 3, and 4 years of age, respectively, and 30.3% of the children had obese mothers. By 4 years of age, 24.1% of children were obese if their mothers had been obese in the first trimester of pregnancy compared with 9.0% of children whose mothers had been of normal weight (BMI >18.5 and <25 kg/m 2 ). After controlling for the birth weight, birth year, and gender of the children plus the mothers' age, race/ethnicity, education level, marital status, parity, weight gain, and smoking during pregnancy, the relative risk of childhood obesity associated with maternal obesity in the first trimester of pregnancy was 2.0 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.7-2.3) at 2 years of age, 2.3 (95% CI: 2.0 -2.6) at 3 years of age, and 2.3 (95% CI: 2.0 -2.6) at 4 years of age.Conclusion. Among low-income children, maternal obesity in early pregnancy more than doubles the risk of obesity at 2 to 4 years of age. In developing strategies to prevent obesity in preschoolers, special attention should be given to newborns with obese mothers. Pediatrics 2004;114:e29 -e36. URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/ content/full/114/1/e29; obesity, child, mothers, birth weight, pregnancy.ABBREVIATIONS. WIC, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; BMI, body mass index; WHZ, weight-for-height z score; OR, odds ratio.A lthough there are twice as many obese children now as there were 20 years ago, 1 we still know little about the exact cause of this trend or how best to stop it. However, if the trend is to be slowed, then there are several reasons that obesity prevention may be a better approach than obesity treatment and why prevention efforts should begin very early in life. A major reason to begin prevention early is that the prevalence of obesity has increased even among preschoolers, 2-5 many of whom remain obese into adolescence. 6 Furthermore, obesity increases the risk of physiologic, 7 functional, 8 and emotional morbidity 9 in children, and obese ch...

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“…Importantly, evidence for a genetic contribution to adiposity, for which there is strong evidence in later life, 21 is very weak for the first 2 years of life. 22 Body weight in this period bears little relationship to the presence of parental obesity, with low values of heritability until the age of 3. 22 In addition obesity (defined as BMI Ͼ85th centile) in the first 2 years is not a significant predictor of obesity in early adulthood.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…22 Body weight in this period bears little relationship to the presence of parental obesity, with low values of heritability until the age of 3. 22 In addition obesity (defined as BMI Ͼ85th centile) in the first 2 years is not a significant predictor of obesity in early adulthood. 7 These studies suggest that the gain in weight-for-length that we have observed between 1 and 6 months of age is less likely to be mediated by genetic factors and may not be important in the long-term prediction of obesity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Excess Weight Gain of Children in the Pima Indian Population

et al. 2002

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ABSTRACT. Objective. To determine the period of childhood in which weight relative to height increases in Pima Indian children and young adults in comparison with the general US population.Methods. Heights and weights of children in the Pima Indian population were derived from either clinical examinations conducted by the Department of Public Health Nursing (from 1-48 months of age), or from examinations in the National Institutes of Health longitudinal survey of health in the Pima population (for birth and ages 5-20 years), and compared with standards for the US population recently published by the National Center for Health Statistics.Results. Weight relative to height (weight-for-length in children aged <24 months, body mass index at ages >2 years) was significantly higher in Pima children at all ages examined after the first month of life. Compared with reference values, the most dramatic increases in weight relative to height occurred in 2 stages of childhood: mean z scores of weight-for-length increased between 1 month (mean ؎ SEM: males: ؊0.2 ؎ 0.19; females: ؊0.02 ؎ 0.14) and 6 months (males: 0.8 ؎ 0.04; females: 0.7 ؎ 0.04) of age; mean z scores for body mass index increased gradually between 2 years (males: 0.4 ؎ 0.06; females: 0.4 ؎ 0.08) and 11 years (males: 1.4 ؎ 0.08; females: 1.4 ؎ 0.08) and remained stable thereafter.Conclusion. Excessive weight gain occurs early in the Pima population with changes relative to reference values most marked in the first 6 months of life and between 2 and 11 years. Interventions toward primary prevention of obesity may need to be targeted at children rather than adults in this population. Pediatrics 2002; 109(2). URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/ 109/2/e33; Pima, Native American, body mass index, obesity.ABBREVIATIONS. BMI, body mass index; NIH, National Institutes of Health; SD, standard deviation; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; NCHS, National Center for Health Statistics; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.T he prevalence of obesity continues to rise in the United States, prompting interventions on the individual and population level to try to prevent and treat the condition. 1,2 The Pima Indians of Arizona have a particularly high prevalence of obesity in both adults and children and suffer from a variety of secondary health consequences-most notably high rates of type 2 diabetes. 3 Excess weight gain in childhood is important for a number of reasons. First, obesity is increasingly recognized in pediatric populations, with attendant concerns regarding immediate and future effects on health. 4 In the Pima population, both obesity and type 2 diabetes are recognized as important health problems in childhood. 5,6 Second, weight gain in childhood may be an important antecedent of obesity in adult life. Body mass index (BMI) tracks through childhood, so that childhood BMI predicts adult obesity. 7 The disappointing results of attempts to treat obesity in adults and children have led to suggestions that health care ...

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Weights of parents and infants: Is there a relationship?

Cited by 40 publications

References 17 publications

Perinatal predictors of overweight at infancy and preschool childhood: the GENESIS study

Perinatal predictors of overweight at infancy and preschool childhood: the GENESIS study

Predicting Preschooler Obesity at Birth: The Role of Maternal Obesity in Early Pregnancy

Early Excess Weight Gain of Children in the Pima Indian Population

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