Can parents’ diet predict childhood obesity? New research weighs in

New research reveals how parental weight shapes kids’ diets—can smarter food choices at home curb childhood obesity?

Study: Preschool Children’s Eating Habits and Parental Nutritional Status. Image Credit: Hryshchyshen Serhii / Shutterstock

In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, researchers explored how Italian preschoolers’ eating habits are related to their parents’ nutritional status.

Their findings indicate that children with both overweight or obese parents consumed more carbohydrates, along with other results highlighting the importance of nutritional education for families to improve children’s health.

Background

Nutrition in early childhood sets the stage for the rest of an individual’s life. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, followed by the introduction of complementary feeding with breastfeeding at least until two years of age, to promote health and optimal growth and development.

It is during this time that children’s future eating habits and patterns are often established. Unhealthy eating patterns could lead to pediatric obesity and overweight, which have increased globally in recent years, eventually raising the risk of developing non-communicable diseases.

Parents and other guardians significantly influence their wards’ eating behaviors. Not only do they make key decisions related to what and how to feed them, but they also choose how to manage issues such as selectivity, food refusal, or mistrust of new foods. Less directly, they serve as role models, as children observe their dietary patterns and choices.

Studies that found that parents’ body mass index (BMI) predicts their children’s BMI and eating behavior provide evidence of this. Research from the United States and the United Kingdom has found that children from overweight or obese families are more likely to prefer fatty foods, snack frequently, consume energy-dense snack foods, and are less likely to enjoy vegetables. However, there is a paucity of similar research from European countries such as Italy.

About the study

Researchers utilized previously collected data on children between 12 and 71 months old and their caregivers. Demographic data included parents’ smoking information, the children’s health history, and socio-demographic characteristics. The children’s heights and weights were collected and used to calculate BMI and assess their nutritional status.

Questionnaires were used to collect data on the children’s behavior during mealtimes, including their preferences, feeding skills, and behavioral compliance. Parents also provided information about how they felt about feeding their children and other aspects of mealtimes, such as family interactions. Food frequency questionnaires were used to understand how often children consumed 99 common food items.

Findings

The final study population comprised 171 children, an average of 4.6 years old, and 58% of whom were males. Of these, researchers classified 78% as adequately nourished; however, 14% were underweight. Another 7% were overweight, and the remaining 1% were obese. Approximately 65% of the children were exclusively breastfed during the first six months or more after birth. Children were given an average of 4.8 meals a day.

The most popular food item was pasta, with 46% of the children showing a preference for it. The second-most popular items were chocolate and other sweets, including bakery foods. Vegetables, particularly cruciferous vegetables, and fish, were among the most refused items. Only 16% of the children did not refuse any food.

37% of the children preferred water as their most popular beverage, 21% preferred cola-based drinks, and only 13% did not drink sugar-sweetened beverages. Fruit juice consumption was notably high, with an average intake of 3.2 times per week, despite recommendations to limit sugary drinks in young children. Overall, the intake of protein and sugar was greater than international and national guidelines and recommendations, with protein intake reaching approximately 3g/kg, nearly three times the recommended level.

The researchers found that nearly 10% of the children were at risk of developing eating problems; of this group, 65% had at least one obese or overweight parent, but 35% had parents with a normal BMI. This suggests that while parental weight status is a contributing factor, other environmental or genetic influences may also play a role.

Obese or overweight children began drinking cow’s milk earlier than those who were not; they also consumed more fat and fewer carbohydrates. In contrast, children whose parents were both obese or overweight consumed more carbohydrates but had a lower total protein intake compared to those with normal-weight parents. These children also had higher birth weights, rather than higher birth rates as previously stated.

Additionally, the study found that families with more children tended to introduce cow’s milk earlier and had higher sugar-sweetened beverage consumption before 24 months of age, suggesting that larger family size may be associated with suboptimal feeding practices.

Conclusions

These findings show how children’s weight and nutritional status are linked to that of their parents. More than half of the children in the study had at least one obese or overweight parent, which could be a risk factor for them developing obesity at a later stage.

Research reviews suggest that children of obese or overweight parents are twice as likely to be obese or overweight than those whose parents are of healthy weight; this relationship is probably the result of both environmental and genetic factors. Additionally, maternal BMI was positively correlated with both the child’s birth weight and their BMI, highlighting potential genetic influences in obesity risk.

An important finding was the high levels of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and other sugary products. This was particularly notable in families with multiple children, where early exposure to sugary drinks was more common. Nutritional education could support families in replacing unhealthy food items with healthier alternatives to promote healthy weight and growth during early childhood.

However, the study has some limitations. As a cross-sectional study, it only provides a snapshot in time and does not establish causal relationships between parental BMI and children’s eating habits. Additionally, much of the data, including food frequency information, was based on parental reporting, which introduces potential recall bias. The study population was also limited to a specific Italian demographic, which may not fully represent broader populations with different socioeconomic backgrounds. Future studies with a longitudinal design could provide more insights into how early eating habits evolve over time and their long-term health effects.

Given these findings, the study emphasizes the importance of personalized intervention strategies. Healthcare professionals and policymakers should consider targeted family-based education programs that address not just individual dietary choices but also broader household eating environments. Interventions should focus on improving parental awareness of balanced nutrition, encouraging healthier food choices for the entire family, and addressing early-life dietary patterns to reduce obesity risks in later years.