Reexamining obesigenic families: parents' obesity-related behaviors predict girls' change in BMI.
OBJECTIVE
It has been shown that girls from families in which mothers and fathers had high dietary intake and low physical activity (i.e., obesigenic families) were at increased risk of obesity from ages 5 to 7 years. This follow-up study uses additional data collected when girls were 9 and 11 years old to examine whether girls from obesigenic families continued to show greater increases in BMI over time and reported unhealthy dietary and activity patterns.


METHODS
Families from the original cohort were reexamined when girls were 9 and 11 years of age. Parents' and girls' BMI, dietary intake, and physical activity and girls' percentage body fat and television viewing were assessed.


RESULTS
In comparison with girls from non-obesigenic families, girls from obesigenic families showed greater increases in BMI and BMI z score from ages 5 to 7 years that were maintained across ages 7 to 11 years. Furthermore, girls from obesigenic families had higher percentage body fat at ages 9 and 11 years. These results were independent of parents' BMI. Additional findings showed that girls from obesigenic families had diets higher in percentage fat and had higher levels of television viewing than girls from non-obesigenic families.


CONCLUSIONS
The environment that parents create, by way of their own dietary and physical activity behaviors, may have a lasting negative effect on children's weight trajectories and their emerging obesity risk behaviors, such as their dietary patterns. These findings further highlight the importance of the family in establishing children's obesity risk and the necessity of targeting parents of young children in obesity prevention efforts.
Krahnstoever Davison
Kirsten
K
Department of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior, University at Albany, State University of New York, One University Place, Room 183, Rensselaer, NY 12144, USA. kdavison@albany.edu
Francis
Lori A
LA
Birch
Leann L
LL
D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D005192:Family Health; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010332:Paternal Behavior; D018570:Risk Assessment; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*