Abstract
Information on familial resemblance is important for the design of effective family-based interventions. We aimed to quantify familial correlations and estimate the proportion of variation attributable to genetic and shared environmental effects (i.e., familiality) for dietary intake variables and determine whether they vary by generation, sex, dietary quality, or by the age of the children. The study sample consisted of 1435 families (1007 mothers, 438 fathers, 1035 daughters, and 1080 sons) from the multi-center I.Family study. Dietary intake was assessed in parents and their 2–19 years old children using repeated 24-h dietary recalls, from which the usual energy and food intakes were estimated with the U.S. National Cancer Institute Method. Food items were categorized as healthy or unhealthy based on their sugar, fat, and fiber content. Interclass and intraclass correlations were calculated for relative pairs. Familiality was estimated using variance component methods. Parent–offspring (r = 0.11–0.33), sibling (r = 0.21–0.43), and spouse (r = 0.15–0.33) correlations were modest. Parent–offspring correlations were stronger for the intake of healthy (r = 0.33) than unhealthy (r = 0.10) foods. Familiality estimates were 61% (95% CI: 54–68%) for the intake of fruit and vegetables and the sum of healthy foods and only 30% (95% CI: 23–38%) for the sum of unhealthy foods. Familial factors explained a larger proportion of the variance in healthy food intake (71%; 95% CI: 62–81%) in younger children below the age of 11 than in older children equal or above the age of 11 (48%; 95% CI: 38–58%). Factors shared by family members such as genetics and/or the shared home environment play a stronger role in shaping children’s intake of healthy foods than unhealthy foods. This suggests that family-based interventions are likely to have greater effects when targeting healthy food choices and families with younger children, and that other sorts of intervention are needed to address the intake of unhealthy foods by children.
Highlights
Parents provide both genes and the home environment for their children, and as such, are central in shaping children’s early experiences with food and eating behavior
Current offspring stronger for healthy food intake unhealthy foodThe intake; andstudy extends this knowledge, by showing firstly, that familial correlations— parent–offspring secondly, that familial resemblance, parent–offspring correlations is stronger for younger correlations—are stronger forolder healthy foodaged intake than unhealthy food intake; and secondly, that children aged 2–10 than for children
Dietary intake significantly aggregates within European families, both among biologically related relatives, including parents and their children and siblings, and non-biologically related spouse pairs living in the same household
Summary
Parents provide both genes and the home environment for their children, and as such, are central in shaping children’s early experiences with food and eating behavior. The availability of fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods in the household is an important predictor of children’s intake of these foods [2,3]. Children have a genetic predisposition to prefer foods that are sweet and salty and reject those that are sour and bitter, such as found in some vegetables [4]. They can, learn to accept these tastes through repeated exposure [5]. Eating meals together has been associated with healthful dietary patterns that track into adulthood, including increased intakes of fruits and vegetables, calcium-rich foods, fiber and micronutrients, and reduced intakes of fried food and soft drinks [7,8]
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