Kids whose grandparents are overweight are almost twice as likely to struggle with obesity

School holidays can be a special time for extended families to get together. Children may see their grandparents at seasonal get-togethers or as part of childcare arrangements to help out working parents. New research suggests that the biology, environment and food they share contribute to children’s future health.

According to the World Health Organization, 39 million children under the age of five are overweight. Around 25% of Australian children and young people are overweight or obese.

How parents contribute to their offspring’s risk of obesity is well known, but the link between grandparents and grandchildren has been less clear. Our systematic review of studies involving more than 200,000 people around the world confirms that obesity is transmitted through multiple family generations. We have yet to figure out why and how to break this cycle.

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Setting up for a lifetime of health problems

Obesity in children and adolescents is associated with the development of health problems. These include high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalance, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, accelerated growth and maturity, orthopedic problems, psychosocial problems, increased risk of heart disease, and premature mortality.

We reviewed the current global evidence on the association between overweight or obese grandparents and their grandchildren’s healthy weight status. We looked at 25 studies involving 238,771 people from 17 countries. The combined data confirm that obesity is transmitted across multiple generations – not only from parents to children, but also from grandparents to grandchildren.

We found that children whose grandparents are obese or overweight are almost twice as likely to be obese or overweight as children whose grandparents are “normal” weight.

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nature and upbringing?

More research is needed on how children’s obesity status is influenced by their grandparents, but there are likely two pathways at work. The influence could be indirect via the parents’ genes or directly through the grandparents’ role in raising children.

Let’s start with biological factors. Both egg and sperm cells contain molecules that respond to the parent’s feeding. This means that traits prone to high weight gain can be passed from grandparents to parents and then to their grandchildren. And evidence shows that genetics, environmental factors, lifestyle and eating habits all play key roles in predisposing individuals to obesity.

What we eat and feed our family members can lead to the expression of certain genetic traits (a term called epigenetics), which can then be passed on to subsequent generations. Due to shared familial, genetic, and environmental factors, obesity tends to accumulate within immediate families, and studies have consistently reported intergenerational transmission of obesity from parents to children.

Food intake can also affect health and biology across multiple generations. In Sweden, a study reported that adequate nutrition for paternal grandparents by age 10 reduced heart disease and diabetes and increased the longevity of their grandchildren.

Grandparents’ influence on their grandchildren’s risk of obesity can be biological or a result of dietary habits.
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food and family

Grandparents’ weight status and decisions about what and how much to eat at home could affect their grandchildren’s weight directly or through the children’s parents. Depending on the role of the grandparents as primary caregivers or in shared accommodation, these influences can be greater or lesser. According to the recent Australia’s Seniors survey, one in four Australian grandparents look after their grandchildren’s basic needs.

The role of grandparents as caregivers has a significant impact on children’s knowledge, attitudes and behavior towards healthy eating. This can be seen in meals shared, recipes passed down, or special treats for loved ones. Such habits may contribute to childhood obesity risks beyond genetic factors.

The grandparents regularly take care of the childcare and thus the meals.
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Working on prevention

Our research shows the importance of involving grandparents in obesity prevention strategies. In addition to parents, grandparents could also be trained to provide guidance on responsible eating, recognizing hunger and satiety, setting boundaries, offering healthy foods, and using repeated exposure to encourage acceptance. You can help encourage regular exercise and discourage force-feeding practices in their grandchildren.

While our study shows a cross-generational association in obesity transmission, most of the available evidence comes from high-income countries—mainly America and European countries. Further studies, particularly from low-income countries, would be helpful.

Further research on the impact of grandparents on grandchild obesity across racial and ethnic backgrounds is also needed. Grandparents have diverse social and cultural roles in raising their grandchildren around the world. More data could help design effective obesity prevention programs that recognize the vital importance of grandparents.

source https://www.bisayanews.com/2022/01/21/kids-whose-grandparents-are-overweight-are-almost-twice-as-likely-to-struggle-with-obesity/