Queensland, Jan 21 (The Conversation) The school holidays are a special time for extended families to gather. Children of working parents usually live in child care centers so they can visit their grandparents only during festivals or holidays. New research has shown that biology, the environment, and the food they share contribute to children’s future health.
According to the World Health Organization, 30 million children under the age of five are overweight. Around 25% of Australian children and adolescents are overweight or obese.
How parents contribute to their offspring’s risk of obesity is well established but the link between grandparents and grandchildren is less clear. Our systematic review of studies involving more than 200,000 people worldwide confirms that obesity is transmitted across multiple generations of families. We still need to figure out why and how to break this cycle.
associated with health issues for a lifetime
Obesity in children and adolescents has been linked to the development of health problems. These include high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalance, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, increased growth and maturation, orthopedic difficulties, psychosocial problems, increased risk of heart disease and premature mortality.
We examined current global evidence on the association between grandparents who are overweight or obese and their grandchildren’s weight status. We looked at 25 studies that included 238,771 people from 17 countries. Combined data confirm that obesity is transmitted from generation to generation – not only from parent to child but also from grandparent to grandchild.
We found that children whose grandparents are obese or overweight are almost twice as likely to be obese or overweight than children of “normal” weight grandparents.
nature and nurture?
More research is needed on how children’s obesity status is influenced by their grandparents, but two factors are likely to be involved. The effect of obesity on the child may be indirect through the genes of the parents or directly through the roles played by the grandparents in the upbringing of the children.
Let’s start with the biological factors. Both the egg and the sperm cell contain molecules that are affected by the feeding of the parents. This means that traits predisposing to overweight can be passed on from grandparents to parents and then to their grandchildren. Further evidence shows that genetics, environmental factors, lifestyle and eating habits all play an important role in predisposing individuals to obesity.
What we eat and what we feed our family members can lead to the expression of certain genetic traits (a term called epigenetics), which can be transferred to subsequent generations.
Due to shared familial, genetic, and environmental factors, obesity is seen throughout the family and studies have consistently reported an intermittent transmission of obesity from parents to children.
Food intake can also affect health and biology over several generations. In Sweden, a study reported that eating enough for grandparents at age ten decreased heart disease and diabetes and increased the lifespan of their grandchildren.
food and family
Therefore, grandparents’ weight status and choices about what and how much is eaten in their household can influence the weight of their grandchildren, either directly or through the parents of the children.
These effects may be more or less significant depending on the role the grandparents play as primary caregivers or in the living arrangement in a joint family.
According to a recent survey of seniors in Australia, one in every four Australian grandparents provide primary care for their grandchildren.
The role of grandparents as caregivers significantly influences children’s healthy eating knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. This can be seen in sharing meals or in special treats for loved ones. Such habits may increase the risk of childhood obesity, beyond genetic factors.
work on prevention
Our research shows the importance of involving grandparents in obesity prevention strategies. Apart from parents, grandparents should also be trained on when and how much healthy food should be given to the child. In addition they can help encourage regular exercise and discourage the practice of force-feeding your grandchildren.
While our study shows a multi-generational link in obesity transmission, most of the available evidence comes from high-income countries – mainly from the US and European countries. More study, especially from low-income countries, would be helpful.
The effect of grandparents on grandchildren’s obesity across different races and classes also requires further investigation. Grandparents have different 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.
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