Researchers say thinness inherited by children

Children whose parents are thin are three times more likely to be slim than children whose parents are overweight, a British study suggests.

Children and teens who are apparently healthy can be categorized as underweight in developed countries, and parents are often concerned about how to feed a son or daughter who is thin. Researchers at University College London did the first known study to investigate how thinness might be transmitted between generations.Researchers at University College London did the first known study to investigate how thinness might be transmitted between generations. Cheryl Ravelo/Reuters

But low weight may simply represent the low end of the healthy distribution of weight.

To find out more, researchers at University College London did the first known study to investigate how thinness might be transmitted between generations.

The study in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine showed a strong family influence on pediatric thinness, based on the results of a health survey from 2001-06 that measured heights and weights of 7,000 families.

Lead author Dr. Katriina Whitaker of UCL Epidemiology & Public Health and her co-authors found:

When both parents were in the thinner half of the healthy weight range, the chance of the child being thin was 16.2 per cent.
7.8 per cent when both parents were in the upper half of the healthy weight range.
5.3 per cent with two overweight parents.
2.5 per cent for children with two obese parents.

About 5.7 per cent or 402 of the 7,078 children and teenagers in the study were categorized as thin according to the International Obesity Task Force.

The study suggests children of thinner parents are likely to be genetically predisposed to have a lower body weight.

'As long as thinner infants stay on track ... and especially if their parents are thin, there may be no cause for concern regarding the weight of those children and adolescents and no need for parents to change their feeding practices,' the study's authors concluded.

This study was funded by a grant from Cancer Research UK.