Researchers identify early home and family factors that contribute to obesity

New Rochelle, NY, February 11, 2019–A new 21-year longitudinal study identified multiple risk factors related to the family and home environment associated with the timing and faster increase in body mass increase (BMI), ultimately leading to overweight or obesity in adulthood. The effects of the home and family characteristics on BMI can emerge as early as age 5, according to the study published in Childhood Obesity, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Click here to read the full-text article free on the Childhood Obesity website through March 11, 2019.

The article entitled “Home and Family Environment Related to Development of Obesity: A 21-Year Longitudinal Study” was coauthored by Patricia East, PhD, University of California, San Diego (La Jolla) and colleagues from UC San Diego, San Diego State University, University of Chile (Santiago), and University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). The researchers evaluated 1,000 youths at ages 5, 10, 15, and 21 years. They identified a range of risk factors that could serve as targets for prevention and intervention. These included family stress, absence of the father, maternal depression, and absence of sufficient active stimulation and opportunity for movement and stimulating experiences.

“It is rare to have a study with longitudinal data at multiple times through childhood into the adult years, with a large sample, multiple factors possibly influencing obesity, and sophisticated statistical analysis procedures,” says Childhood Obesity Editor-in-Chief Tom Baranowski, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. “This important study with 1,000 Chilean children from 5 to 21 years of age identified four BMI trajectories through childhood, and the family, home, and neighborhood factors, even from infancy, that differentiated those groups. This study provides key issues for confirmatory research and consideration for intervention.”

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Childhood Obesity is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal, published in print and online, and the journal of record for all aspects of communication on the broad spectrum of issues and strategies related to weight management and obesity prevention in children and adolescents. Led by Editor-in-Chief Tom Baranowski, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, and Editor Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children & Harvard Medical School, the Journal provides authoritative coverage of new weight management initiatives, early intervention strategies, nutrition, clinical studies, comorbid conditions, health disparities and cultural sensitivity issues, community and public health measures, and more. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Childhood Obesity website.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative medical and biomedical peer-reviewed journals, including Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, Population Health Management, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics (DTT), and Journal of Women’s Health. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 80 journals, newsmagazines, and books is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.