Abstract
There is compelling evidence that parental weight is a strong determinant of offspring weight status. The study used cross-sectional self-reported and measured data from a longitudinal cohort of Australian adults (n = 2128) from Stage 3 (2008–10) of the North West Adelaide Health Study (1999–2003, baseline n = 4056) to investigate the association between midlife parental body shape and four indicators of obesity and fat distribution. The analysis used measured body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist hip ratio (WHR) and waist height ratio (WHtR) of adult offspring, together with pictograms for recall of parental body shape. Compared to both parents being a healthy weight, offspring were more likely to be overweight or obese if both parents were an unhealthy weight at age 40 (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.67–2.76) and further, those participants whose mother was an unhealthy weight were more likely to be overweight or obese themselves (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.14–1.98). There were similar but lower results for those with an overweight/obese father (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.08–1.93). The effect of one or both parents being overweight or obese tended to be stronger for daughters than for sons across BMI, WC and WHtR. BMI showed the strongest association with parental body shape (OR 2.14), followed by WC (OR 1.78), WHtR (OR 1.71) and WHR (OR 1.45). WHtR (42–45%) and BMI (35–36%) provided the highest positive predictive values for overweight/obesity from parental body shape. Parental obesity increases the risk of obesity for adult offspring, both for overall body shape and central adiposity, particularly for daughters. Pictograms could potentially be used as a screening tool in primary care settings to promote healthy weight among young adults.
Highlights
Research suggests that the location of excess body fat within individuals is associated with morbidity and mortality [1]
Our study found that in this population, offspring were more likely to be obese across three of the four measures (BMI, waist circumference (WC) and waist height ratio (WHtR) but not waist hip ratio (WHR)) if their parents were obese, and the association was stronger for daughters than for sons
It provides further evidence that parental obesity increases the risk of obesity for adult offspring, both for overall body shape as well as central adiposity
Summary
Research suggests that the location of excess body fat within individuals is associated with morbidity and mortality [1]. Cardiometabolic complications are more likely to occur when visceral fat storage is present in excess [2]. Obesity is the most recent major global. Services Research Initiatives (Large) Projects (HSRIP) fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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