Already a subscriber?People whose parents were both obese in middle age are six times more likely to be obese at that age too, new research has found.
Previous research has shown a strong association between parents’ and their children’s obesity status, but few studies have investigated whether this intergenerational transmission of obesity continues past adolescence and into adulthood. This is significant, as obesity is a chronic lifelong disease that contributes to ill health and premature death.
After adjusting for sex, age, education and physical activity level, a strong association between both the parents’ BMI and their obesity status, and that of their offspring at the same age, was found. Long after they have left home, Ms Mikkelsen said children whose parents lived with obesity were much more likely to be living with obesity themselves.