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Parent-Offspring Associations in Body Composition: Findings From the Southampton Women's Survey Prospective Cohort
Rebecca J Moon1,2, Stefania D'Angelo1, Christopher R Holroyd3
1MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
|March 21, 2023
Summary
Maternal obesity strongly influences daughters' body composition, but paternal influence is not evident. Early interventions targeting girls born to overweight mothers are recommended to prevent unhealthy body composition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric obesity research
- Human body composition studies
- Transgenerational health studies
Background:
- Children of overweight or obese parents face a heightened risk of adult obesity.
- The differential impact of parental obesity on offspring body composition requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate distinct mother-offspring and father-offspring associations in body composition during early childhood.
- To understand how parental weight status is transmitted to children's body composition.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 240 mother-father-offspring trios from a UK prospective birth cohort.
- Assessment of offspring body composition (fat mass, BMI) at ages 4, 6-7, and 8-9 years using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.
- Statistical analysis using linear regression, adjusting for the other parent's influence.
Main Results:
- Significant positive associations were found between mother-daughter body mass index (BMI) and fat mass at ages 6-7 and 8-9 years.
- Mother-son, father-son, and father-daughter associations for BMI and fat mass were consistently weaker across all studied ages.
- A strong link between maternal and daughter fat mass was observed, but not between mothers and sons.
Conclusions:
- A notable sex-specific association exists, with mothers' body composition strongly linked to daughters' but not sons'.
- Father-offspring body composition associations were not statistically significant in this cohort.
- Targeted early prevention strategies for unfavorable body composition in girls with overweight mothers are warranted.
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