A two-year study of parental obesity status and childhood obesity in China

Background and aims: We evaluated the association between parental obesity and their children's obesity parameters [e.g., percentage of body fat (PBF)] over time. Methods and results: The study included 2066 Chinese parents-children trios (n = 1001 girls and 1065 boys, aged 6–14 years). Children's height, weight, waist circumference (WC) and PBF (bioelectrical impedance analysis) were annually assessed from 2014 (baseline) to 2016. Information on parental height and body weight, and children's diet and physical activity was collected in 2014. The association between parental obesity and changes in their children's PBF during follow-up was analyzed using a mixed effects model. We also examined changes in children's BMI and WC in secondary analyses. Baseline mean BMI, WC, and PBF for children were 17.6 ± 3.5 kg/m ² , 60.5 ± 9.6 cm, and 16.6 ± 6.5%, respectively. We observed that maternal, but not paternal, obesity was associated with a greater increase in children's PBF during the follow-up. An adjusted mean difference in annual increase of PBF was 0.41% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01%, 0.84%] for children with obese mothers, compared with those with normal-weight mothers. Both maternal and paternal obesity was associated with a greater increase in their children's BMI and WC (p trend<0.01 for both); however, the associations were stronger in mother–children pairs than those in father–children pairs. Conclusions: Maternal obesity was associated with a greater increase in PBF in Chinese school-aged children.