A new research suggests that having obese siblings rather than overweight parents is an indication of childhood obesity.
For the study, researchers interviewed adults in 10,244 American households and found that the possibility of childhood obesity differs with the number of children in a household, as well as their gender. The team found that in a single child household, a child is 2.2 times more likely to be obese if a parent is also obese.
Family with two children showed a stronger link with sibling obesity than with parental obesity. Gender also plays a role in sibling obesity. Single child girls are less likely to be obese. It was found that the younger child is influenced by the older siblings especially if they are of the same sex.
"For youngest boys in two-child families, obesity is 11.4 times more likely with a male older sibling," study authors wrote. "If that younger boy's elder sibling is a girl, the boy is 6.6 times more likely to be obese. In two-child families, youngest-girl obesity is 8.6 times more likely with a female older sibling and is not significantly more likely if the older sibling is male. Thus, for younger children, there is a discernible gender correlation in sibling obesity status: having an obese elder same-gender sibling is associated with an increased likelihood of the younger child being obese."
Researchers emphasized that exercise and food consumption play important roles in keeping obesity at bay.
"Younger siblings with more vigorous physical activity are significantly less likely to be obese, though having an elder sibling who is extremely active is associated with a higher risk of younger-sibling obesity," said lead investigator Mark C. Pachucki, PhD, Mongan Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.
The study found a definite sibling influence in terms of activity and food consumption.
"In seeking to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity, it may be productive to consider prevention and treatment models that meaningfully recognize siblings as interconnected, " the researchers say.
The study was has been published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
