Association of reduction in parental overweight with reduction in childrenʹs overweight with a 3-year follow-up

Background. Parental overweight has been reported to be a risk factor predicting obesity of their children. However, the effect of changes in parental overweight on the changes in childrenʹs overweight is not yet characterized. Methods. Six hundred five children of 9–10 years underwent physical examinations and a survey concerning parentsʹ body mass index (BMI) with a 3-year follow-up. Results. In families where both parentsʹ BMI was above 25 at baseline, when either parentsʹ BMI decreased to less than 25 kg/m2, children improved their adiposity, atherosclerosis index (AI), and systolic blood pressure (SBP). No such improvement was observed in children both of whose parents maintained BMI ≥25 kg/m2. Conclusions. Improving parental overweight possibly reduced the risk of overweight in their children. Changes in parental overweight status were associated with changes in overweight status of their children.