Maternal and Paternal Body Mass Index and Offspring Obesity: A Systematic Review

Background/Aims: It has been hypothesized that the
intrauterineenvironment is an independent factor in obesity
development. If so, thematernal effect is likely to be a stronger
influencing factor (’fetalovernutrition hypothesis’). We aimed to
systematically evaluate theassociations of offspring body mass
index (BMI, or adiposity) withpre-pregnancy BMI (or adiposity) of
the mother and the father. Methods:The Medline, Embase and Cochrane
Library databases were searched inMarch 2012. Results: Seven cohort
studies were eligible for theanalysis. Among these, 2 groups of
trials presented different data fromthe same parent-offspring
cohorts (the Avon Longitudinal Study ofParents and Children,
ALSPAC, and the Mater-University Study ofPregnancy, MUSP). In
total, 3 large birth cohorts and 1 additional smallstudy were
identified. Three studies provided a direct comparison
ofparent-offspring associations, with a statistically stronger
maternalinfluence found only in the MUSP cohort. Equivocal results
were obtainedfrom all studies describing the ALSPAC cohort. The
parental effect(indirectly estimated based on the presented odds
ratio) was similar inthe Finnish cohort. In 1 additional small
study, maternal BMI was foundto be a strong predictor of childhood
obesity. Conclusions: There isonly limited evidence to support the
‘fetal overnutrition hypothesis’.