International journal of obesity : journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
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Obesity is prevalent among women of reproductive age, and developmental disabilities in children continue to increase. We examined associations between mother's prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and physical and developmental disabilities, and objective measures of reading and math skills and fine and gross motor function in children. ⋯ In this nationally representative US cohort, children born to severely obese mothers had an increased risk for diagnosed learning and behavioral but not physical disabilities by kindergarten.
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Emerging evidence suggests that prenatal exposures may affect long-term health outcomes. In utero exposure to smoking is associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. However, few studies have examined how prenatal exposure to parental smoking influences the risk of obesity during adulthood and whether these associations are independent of childhood and adolescent adiposity. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to parental smoking influences body size during adulthood and whether any association may be mediated by childhood and adolescent body size. ⋯ Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated in a dose-response manner with overweight and obesity in the daughter across adolescence and adult life. Smoking cessation during the first trimester appears to mitigate this excess risk.Paternal smoking was also associated with the risk of being overweight and obese of the adult daughter and this association persisted after adjustment for maternal smoking.
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Temporal pathways of known associations between overweight and poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescents remain poorly documented. This study aims to (1) examine timing and strength of the association between HRQoL and body mass index (BMI) in childhood, and (2) investigate directionality and impact of cumulative burden in any observed HRQoL-BMI associations. ⋯ Middle childhood appears to be the critical period in which HRQoL-BMI comorbidities emerge and strengthen, first among children with clinically relevant conditions, that is, overweight or poor HRQoL, and then more generally across the whole range of BMI. Poorer HRQoL seemed predominantly a consequence of higher BMI, rather than a cause, suggesting that effective promotion of healthy weight could benefit multiple aspects of children's well-being.
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To examine associations between characteristics of neighborhood built and social environments and likelihood of obesity among family triads living at the same residential address and to explore whether these associations differ between family members. ⋯ Findings indicate that some shared neighborhood exposures are associated with greater risk of obesity for entire families whereas other exposures may heighten obesity risk in some but not all family members. Patterns may reflect differences in the way in which family members use residential neighborhood environments.