Intergenerational cardiovascular disease risk factors involve both maternal and paternal BMI

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Stable Isotope In-Vivo Labeling for Mass-Spectrometry Identification of Paternal Metabolites Transferred from Sperm to Oocyte During Fertilization
05:55

Stable Isotope In-Vivo Labeling for Mass-Spectrometry Identification of Paternal Metabolites Transferred from Sperm to Oocyte During Fertilization

Published on: June 17, 2025

Idoia Labayen1, Jonatan R Ruiz, Francisco B Ortega

  • 1Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of the Basque Country, Vitoria, Spain. idoia.labayen@ehu.es

Diabetes Care
|January 9, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Parental body mass index (BMI) is linked to increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in offspring, including body fat and reduced cardiorespiratory fitness, even in normal-weight children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Cardiovascular Disease Research
  • Obesity Studies

Background:

  • Parental obesity is a growing public health concern.
  • Childhood cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are increasingly prevalent.
  • Understanding intergenerational influences on health is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between parental body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in offspring.
  • To determine if parental BMI predicts offspring adiposity, blood pressure, fitness, and metabolic markers.
  • To explore these associations independently of offspring weight status.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 940 children and 873 adolescents.
  • Parental BMI was calculated from reported height and weight.
  • Offspring CVD risk factors included body fat (total and central), blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness, insulin sensitivity, lipid profiles, and fibrinogen.

Main Results:

  • Maternal and paternal BMI were positively associated with offspring total and central body fat (P < 0.001).
  • Parental BMI correlated with offspring waist circumference independently of total adiposity and height (P < 0.001).
  • Higher maternal BMI was linked to poorer offspring cardiorespiratory fitness, independent of fatness (P < 0.02).

Conclusions:

  • Parental BMI is a significant predictor of CVD risk factors in offspring, particularly body fat and cardiorespiratory fitness.
  • These associations suggest a transgenerational transmission of CVD risk susceptibility.
  • The findings highlight the importance of parental weight status in offspring cardiovascular health, even in non-overweight descendants.
Abstract

Related Concept Videos

Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction01:30

Coronary Artery Disease I: Introduction

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD): An Overview with Scientific InsightsCoronary Artery Disease (CAD), often referred to as C-A-D, is a prevalent blood vessel disorder classified under the broader category of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a pathological process characterized by the hardening and narrowing of arteries due to the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaques. These plaques are composed of cholesterol, fatty substances, inflammatory cells, calcium, and fibrin, reducing blood flow to...
Obesity01:24

Obesity

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a numerical value derived from a person's weight and height, used to categorize individuals into weight ranges. It is calculated using the formula: weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Obesity is a health condition characterized by excessive accumulation of adipose tissue that poses health risks, often diagnosed with a BMI ≥ 30. This excess fat storage occurs when surplus dietary calories are converted into triglycerides and stored in adipocytes...
Psychoneuroimmunology: Cardiovascular Disease01:27

Psychoneuroimmunology: Cardiovascular Disease

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) is a multidisciplinary field that examines how psychological factors, particularly stress, interact with the immune system and impact physical health. Research in PNI has shown that chronic or traumatic stress can disrupt both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system. These disruptions contribute to serious health conditions, including cardiovascular diseases.
A key area of focus in PNI is the relationship between stress and coronary...
Probability Laws01:49

Probability Laws

Overview
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance02:30

Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance

Diploid organisms inherit genetic material through chromosomes from both parents. Copies of the same gene are known as alleles. In most cases, both alleles are simultaneously expressed and allow various cellular processes to function optimally. If one of the alleles is missing or mutated, the expression of the other allele can compensate; however, this is not true for all genes.
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Type II Diabetes I: Introduction01:26

Type II Diabetes I: Introduction

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance, in which target tissues such as the liver, muscle, and adipose tissue respond poorly to insulin. It is also associated with inadequate compensatory insulin secretion, where pancreatic β-cells fail to produce sufficient insulin. Together, these abnormalities lead to persistent hyperglycemia.EtiologyT2DM develops through a complex interaction of genetic predisposition and environmental or...