London – The lifestyle of parents – rather than their genes – is mainly responsible for children being overweight, scientists believe.
A study compared the weight of thousands of adoptive and biological children to that of their parents, and found notable similarities.
When both parents were overweight, the likelihood of an adopted child being overweight increased by 21 percent. For biological families, the likelihood rose by 27 percent.
The small difference of just six percentage points shows the relatively limited influence of genetics on a child’s bodyweight.
Lead researcher Dr Joan Costa Font, from the London School of Economics, said the results were ‘good news’ because it meant that something could be done about weight problems in young people.
‘Although initiatives that target children themselves are admirable, our results suggest that the focus should be on helping parents adopt healthier lifestyles,’ she said.
The data – taken from Health Survey for England surveys from 1997 to 2009 – included around 13,000 biological families and 300 adoptive ones. Researchers accounted for a number of factors including the parents’ education and age, and the children’s age and gender.
The latest figures show that one in three children are overweight or obese. Dr Costa Font added that any policies to tackle the problem will need to deal with ‘both mothers and fathers to be effective’.
Daily Mail