Influence of parental obesity on the physical constitution of preschool children in Japan

Stronger influence of maternal than paternal obesity on infant and early childhood body mass index: the Fels Longitudinal Study

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT

Excessive early childhood adiposity is a prevalent and increasing concern in many parts of the world. Parental obesity is one of the several factors previously associated with infant and early childhood weight, length and adiposity. Parental obesity represents a surrogate marker of the complex interplay among genetic, epigenetic and shared environmental factors, and is potentially modifiable. The relative contributions of maternal and paternal body mass index (BMI) to infant and early childhood growth, as well as the timing of such effects, have not been firmly established.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

Utilizing serial infant measurements and growth curve modelling, this is the largest study to fully characterize and formally compare associations between maternal and paternal BMI and offspring growth across the entire infancy and early childhood period. Maternal obesity is a stronger determinant of offspring BMI than paternal obesity at birth and from 2 to 3 years of age, suggesting that prevention efforts focused particularly on maternal lifestyle and BMI may be important in reducing excess infant BMI. The observation that maternal BMI effects are not constant, but rather present at birth, wane and re-emerge during late infancy, suggests that there is a window of opportunity in early infancy when targeted interventions on children of obese mothers may be most effective.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE

Parental obesity influences infant body size. To fully characterize their relative effects on infant adiposity, associations between maternal and paternal body mass index (BMI) category (normal: ≤25 kg m(-2) , overweight: 25 - <30 kg m(-2) , obese: ≥30 kg m(-2) ) and infant BMI were compared in Fels Longitudinal Study participants.

METHODS

A median of 9 serial weight and length measures from birth to 3.5 years were obtained from 912 European American children born in 1928-2008. Using multivariable mixed effects regression, contributions of maternal vs. paternal BMI status to infant BMI growth curves were evaluated. Cubic spline models also included parental covariates, infant sex, age and birth variables, and interactions with child's age.

RESULTS

Infant BMI curves were significantly different across the three maternal BMI categories (Poverall  < 0.0001), and offspring of obese mothers had greater mean BMI at birth and between 1.5 and 3.5 years than those of over- and normal weight mothers (P ≤ 0.02). Average differences between offspring of obese and normal weight mothers were similar at birth (0.8 kg m(-2) , P = 0.0009) and between 2 and 3.5 years (0.7-0.8 kg m(-2) , P < 0.0001). Infants of obese fathers also had BMI growth curves distinct from those of normal weight fathers (P = 0.02). Infant BMI was more strongly associated with maternal than paternal obesity overall (P < 0.0001); significant differences were observed at birth (1.11 kg m(-2) , P = 0.006) and from 2 to 3 years (0.62 kg m(-2) , P3 years  = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

At birth and in later infancy, maternal BMI has a stronger influence on BMI growth than paternal BMI, suggesting weight control in reproductive age women may be of particular benefit for preventing excess infant BMI.

Nutritional status of adolescents: the 11-year follow-up of the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study

We evaluate the influence of demographic, socioeconomic, and maternal variables on the nutritional status of adolescents aged 11 years. We conducted a prospective cohort study including 4,452 adolescents born in Pelotas, Southern Brazil, in 1993, accounting for 87.5% of the original cohort. Nutritional status was evaluated based on World Health Organization criteria. Subjects were classified according to nutritional status into thin, normal, overweight and obese. Independent variables analyzed included skin color, socioeconomic status, maternal schooling, and maternal body mass index (BMI). Analyses were stratified by sex, and multivariable regression was performed using the multinomial logistic approach. Overall, 7% of adolescents were classified as thin, 11.6% as overweight, and 11.6% as obese. Among boys, thinness was inversely associated with maternal schooling and maternal BMI. Among girls, thinness was directly associated with maternal BMI. Overweight and obesity were directly associated with socioeconomic status and maternal BMI, the former showing the strongest association with nutritional status among adolescents.

Relationship between maternal obesity and infant feeding-interactions

Background

There are no data regarding the relationship between maternal adiposity and interaction and feeding of infants and possible contribution to childhood obesity. In this study we determined the relationship between maternal body weight and composition and infant feeding patterns and maternal-infant interaction during 24-hour metabolic rate measurements in the Enhanced Metabolic Testing Activity Chamber (EMTAC).

Methods

The amount of time four obese (BMI = 33.5 ± 5.3 kg/m²) and three normal weight (BMI = 23.1 ± 0.6 kg/m²) biological mothers, spent feeding and interacting with their infants, along with what they ingested, was recorded during 24-hour metabolic rate measurements in the EMTAC. The seven infants were 4.9 ± 0.7 months, 69 ± 3 cm, 7.5 ± 0.8 kg, 26 ± 3 % fat and 29 ± 25 percentile for weight for length. Energy and macronutrient intake (kcal/kg) were assessed. Maternal body composition was determined by air displacement plethysmorgraphy and that of the infants by skin-fold thicknesses. Pearson correlations and independent t-tests were utilized for statistical analysis (p < 0.05).

Results

Infants born to obese biological mothers consumed more energy (87.6 ± 18.9 vs. 68.1 ± 17.3) and energy as carbohydrate (25 ± 6 vs.16 ± 3; p < 0.05) than their normal weight counterparts. Most of the increased intake was due to complementary feedings. Twenty-four hour infant energy intake increased with both greater maternal body weight (r = 0.73;p < 0.06) and percent body fat. Furthermore, obese biological mothers spent less total time interacting (570 ± 13 vs. 381 ± 30 minutes) and feeding (298 ± 32 vs.176 ± 22 minutes) (p < 0.05) their infants than their normal weight counterparts. Twenty-four hour interaction time negatively correlated with both maternal body weight (r = -0.98; p < 0.01) and percent body fat (r = -0.92; p < 0.01). Moreover, infants of obese mothers slept more (783 ± 38 vs. 682 ± 32 minutes; p < 0.05) than their normal weight counterparts. However, there were no differences in total 24-hour energy expenditure, resting and sleeping metabolic rates (kcal/kg) for infants born to obese and normal weight biological mothers.

Conclusion

Greater maternal body weight and percent body fat were associated with greater infant energy intakes. These infants were fed less frequently and consumed more carbohydrates in a shorter period of time as compared to infants from normal weight biological mothers. These variations in feeding patterns may predispose certain infants to obesity.

Prevalência da obesidade em adolescentes de Bragança Paulista e sua relação com a obesidade dos pais

O objetivo do trabalho foi determinar a prevalência da obesidade entre adolescentes da Rede Estadual de Ensino da cidade de Bragança Paulista, SP, e relacioná-la com o estado nutricional dos pais. Foi realizado um estudo transversal com 1.334 adolescentes, na faixa de 11 a 18 anos, matriculados da 5ª série ao 3ª colegial, sendo 796 (59,7%) do sexo feminino. As variáveis estudadas nos adolescentes foram: sexo, idade, escolaridade, peso atual e estatura, e nos pais: sexo, idade, peso atual e estatura. O diagnóstico nutricional foi feito pelo índice de massa corpórea [IMC - peso (kg)/altura (m²)]. A avaliação do estado nutricional foi realizada com as medidas anteriores, de acordo com indicadores antropométricos recomendados para adolescentes. Encontrou-se baixa prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade entre os adolescentes (7,3 e 3,5%, respectivamente), e maior prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade em adolescentes que possuem pai e mãe obesos (26,09%), quando comparados aos pais com peso normal (9,29%). Concluiu-se que a obesidade não é um problema de Saúde Pública nesta população e que existe relação da obesidade dos adolescentes com o estado nutricional de seus pais.

Family lifestyle and parental body mass index as predictors of body mass index in Australian children: a longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate associations between body mass index (BMI) and family characteristics, including lifestyle, in parents and offspring from Australian families.

DESIGN AND SUBJECTS

Longitudinal survey of 219 families of Australian children who had been surveyed 3-yearly between the ages of 9 and 18 y.

MEASUREMENTS

Socio-economic status, weight and height, diet from 3 day records or food frequency questionnaires, alcohol consumption, smoking habits and physical fitness in offspring (bicycle ergometry in 18-y-olds).

RESULTS

In 18-y-olds, in models examining offspring's lifestyle variables, BMI was predicted negatively by physical fitness (P=0.012), and positively by alcohol intake (P=0.046) in sons while, in daughters, only a negative association with physical fitness was significant. In models including parental characteristics, BMI in 18-y-old sons and daughters was significantly predicted by mothers' and fathers' BMI, independently of offsprings' alcohol intake, smoking, physical fitness and parents' education, and, in daughters, by fathers' alcohol intake. These models explained 48% of variance in daughters and 33% in sons. In both sons and daughters, BMI over the 9 y of the survey was consistently higher in offspring with overweight or obese fathers (P=0.033 for sons, P=0.024 for daughters) or mothers (P=0.031 for sons, P=0.037 for daughters). Physical fitness at the ages of 12, 15 and 18 y was negatively related to fathers' obesity in daughters and mothers' obesity in sons. Obesity in fathers was associated with a four-fold increase in risk of obesity at the age of 18 y in both sons and daughters with an independent eight-fold increase in risk for daughters if mothers were obese. Birthweight was unrelated to overweight or obesity in the 18-y-olds. Alcohol intake in sons related significantly to alcohol intake in either parent while, for daughters, there was a significant association only with fathers' alcohol consumption. In daughters, fat intake was positively associated with fat intake score in both fathers and mothers.

CONCLUSION

Parental overweight or obesity may identify children at risk for a range of unhealthy behaviours. Promotion of a healthy lifestyle targeting overweight families, particularly in lower socio-economic groups, should be a priority.

Energy intake, not energy output, is a determinant of body size in infants

BACKGROUND

It has been proposed that the primary determinants of body weight at 1 y of age are genetic background, as represented by parental obesity, and low total energy expenditure.

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to determine the relative contributions of genetic background and energy intake and expenditure as determinants of body weight at 1 y of age.

DESIGN

Forty infants of obese and 38 infants of lean mothers, half boys and half girls, were assessed at 3 mo of age for 10 risk factors for obesity: sex, risk group (obese or nonobese mothers), maternal and paternal body mass index, body weight, feeding mode (breast, bottle, or both), 3-d energy intake, nutritive sucking behavior during a test meal, total energy expenditure, sleeping energy expenditure, and interactions among them.

RESULTS

The only difference between risk groups at baseline was that the high-risk group sucked more vigorously during the test meal. Four measures accounted for 62% of the variability in weight at 12 mo: 3-mo weight (41%, P = 0.0001), nutritive sucking behavior (9%, P = 0.0002), 3-d food intake (8%, P = 0.0002), and male sex (3%, P = 0.05). Food intake and sucking behavior at 3 mo accounted for similar amounts of variability in weight-for-length, body fat, fat-free mass, and skinfold thickness at 12 mo. Contrary to expectations, neither total nor sleeping energy expenditure at 3 mo nor maternal obesity contributed to measures of body size at 12 mo.

CONCLUSIONS

Energy intake contributes significantly to measures of body weight and composition at 1 y of age; parental obesity and energy expenditure do not.