title: Lower levels of maternal capital in early life predict offspring obesity in adulthood.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  As of 2013, 65% of the world's population lived in countries where overweight/obesity kills more people than being underweight. Evolutionary perspectives provide a holistic understanding of both how and why obesity develops and its long-term implications.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test whether the maternal capital hypothesis, an evolutionary perspective, is viable for explaining the development of obesity in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  Restricted-use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; n = 11 403) was analysed using logistic regressions. The sample included adolescents and their biological mothers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The odds of obesity in adulthood increased by 22% for every standard deviation increase in lack of maternal capital (Exp (B) = 1.22, p < .001). That is, individuals whose mothers were young, of an ethnic minority and had short breastfeeding durations were more likely to be obese in adulthood, even after controlling for other factors in infancy, adolescence and adulthood. The results showed that those whose mothers had lower capital were more prone to later life disease (specifically, obesity).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The maternal capital perspective is useful for explaining how and why early life characteristics (including maternal resources) predict obesity in adulthood. Implications of the findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Human Development and Family Studies , Iowa State University , Ames , IA , USA.
authors.forename: Meghan T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gillette
authors.affiliation: a Department of Human Development and Family Studies , Iowa State University , Ames , IA , USA.
authors.forename: Brenda J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Lohman
authors.affiliation: a Department of Human Development and Family Studies , Iowa State University , Ames , IA , USA.
authors.forename: Tricia K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Neppl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Developmental origins of health and disease; breastfeeding; health across the lifespan; maternal phenotype; non-communicable disease