Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2025

Author Spotlight: Enhancing the Offspring Health in Rats with Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy
Published on: April 5, 2024
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.
Context:
Children born to parents who are overweight or obese have a high risk of adult obesity, but it is unclear if transgenerational associations relating to unfavorable body composition differ by parent.
Objective:
To examine differential mother-offspring and father-offspring associations in body composition in early childhood.
Methods:
A total of 240 mother-father-offspring trios from a prospective UK population-based pre-birth cohort (Southampton Women's Survey) were included for anthropometry and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry assessment of whole-body-less-head body composition in the offspring at 3 different ages (4, 6-7, and 8-9 years) and in the mother and father at the 8- to 9-year offspring visit. Associations were assessed using linear regression adjusting for the other parent.
Results:
Positive associations between mother-daughter body mass index (BMI) and fat mass were observed at ages 6 to 7 (BMI: β = .29 SD/SD, 95% CI = .10, .48; fat mass β = .27 SD/SD, 95% CI = .05, .48) and 8 to 9 years (BMI: β = .33 SD/SD, 95% CI = .13, .54; fat mass β = .31 SD/SD, 95% CI = .12, .49), with similar associations at age 4 years but bounding the 95% CI. The mother-son, father-son, and father-daughter associations for BMI and fat mass were weaker at each of the ages studied.
Conclusion:
A strong association between the fat mass of mothers and their daughters but not their sons was observed. In contrast, father-offspring body composition associations were not evident. The dimorphic parent-offspring effects suggest particular attention should be given to early prevention of unfavorable body composition in girls born to mothers with excess adiposity.
Related Concept Videos
Longitudinal Studies
Longitudinal Research
Relationship Formation
Changes in the Appendicular Skeleton with Age
Initially, the limb buds consist of a core of mesenchyme covered by a layer of ectoderm. The ectoderm at the end of the limb bud thickens to form a narrow crest called the apical ectodermal ridge. This ridge stimulates the underlying...
Regression Toward the Mean
Data Collection by Observations
An astronomer viewing the motion and brightness of stars in the sky and recording the data is an example of observational data collection. A botanist recording...

