Fatness and obesity of the parents of obese individuals.
As shown in 1419 pairings of obese probands with their parents drawn from a larger series of greater than 9000 proband-parent pairings, the fathers and mothers of obese probands are of increased fatness level (+0.27 Z scores) and more often obese than expected (odds ratio 1.50 overall). However, the tendency towards increased fatness and a greater prevalence of obesity among the parents of obese probands bears a curvilinear relationship to the age of the proband, being least when the probands are young, peaking when the sons and daughters are teen-agers, and declining thereafter. Parents of lean probands in turn tend to be lean themselves (averaging -0.25 Z scores) and least often obese when their progeny are teen-aged. As shown in a two-generational context, familial obesity is best demonstrated in adolescents and their parents, either reflecting years spent in common or a specific etiology for adolescent-onset obesity.
Garn
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Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-0406.
Sullivan
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Hawthorne
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012885:Skinfold Thickness