title: Parental obesity moderates the relationship between childhood appetitive traits and weight.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, the independent and combined associations between childhood appetitive traits and parental obesity on weight gain from 0 to 24 months and body mass index (BMI) z-score at 24 months in a diverse community-based sample of dual parent families (n = 213) were examined.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were mothers who had recently completed a randomized trial of weight loss for overweight/obese postpartum women. As measures of childhood appetitive traits, mothers completed subscales of the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire, including Desire to Drink (DD), Enjoyment of Food (EF), and Satiety Responsiveness (SR), and a 24-h dietary recall for their child. Heights and weights were measured for all children and mothers and self-reported for mothers' partners. The relationship between children's appetitive traits and parental obesity on toddler weight gain and BMI z-score were evaluated using multivariate linear regression models, controlling for a number of potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Having two obese parents was related to greater weight gain from birth to 24 months independent of childhood appetitive traits, and although significant associations were found between appetitive traits (DD and SR) and child BMI z-score at 24 months, these associations were observed only among children who had two obese parents. When both parents were obese, increasing DD and decreasing SR were associated with a higher BMI z-score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results highlight the importance of considering familial risk factors when examining the relationship between childhood appetitive traits on childhood obesity.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA. bernard.fuemmeler@duke.edu
authors.forename: Bernard F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Fuemmeler
authors.forename: Cheryl A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lovelady
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Zucker
authors.forename: Truls
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Østbye
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001066:Appetite; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires