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Prenatal compared with parental origins of adolescent fatness

A R Frisancho1

  • 1Center for Human Growth and Development and the Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 481090, USA. arfrisan@umich.edu

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|November 4, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Newborn size and parental body fatness significantly influence adolescent fatness. Heavy newborns are more likely to become fat adolescents if their parents are also overweight, highlighting the role of genetics and environment.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Prenatal growth patterns are known to impact postnatal body fat accumulation.
  • Understanding factors contributing to adolescent fatness is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the influence of parental body composition on the persistence of fatness from infancy to adolescence.
  • To investigate the "tracking" of adolescent fatness in relation to early life growth and parental weight status.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 1993 white subjects and their parents were studied.
  • Measurements of weight and body mass index (BMI) were taken at birth and adolescence (15-17 years).
  • Newborns were categorized by gestational age (small, appropriate, large); parents were classified by BMI and skinfold thickness.

Main Results:

  • Large-for-gestational-age newborns became fatter adolescents primarily when mothers or fathers were also classified as fat.
  • Among heavy newborns, the risk of becoming a fat adolescent increased approximately 5.7-fold if the mother was fat compared to lean.
  • Parental body composition was a stronger predictor of adolescent fatness than newborn size alone.

Conclusions:

  • Adolescent fatness is significantly associated with parental overweight status, rather than solely with prenatal growth.
  • Interventions targeting newborn adiposity may not be sufficient to prevent adolescent obesity if parental factors are not considered.
  • Parental body composition plays a critical role in the development and tracking of adolescent fatness.
Abstract

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