Paternal BMI in the preconception period, and the association with child zBMI

Arin C Deveci; Charles D G Keown-Stoneman; Jonathon L Maguire; Deborah L O'Connor; Laura N Anderson; Cindy-Lee Dennis; Catherine S Birken; TARGet Kids! Collaboration

doi:10.1038/s41366-023-01261-0

Paternal BMI in the preconception period, and the association with child zBMI

Int J Obes (Lond). 2023 Apr;47(4):280-287. doi: 10.1038/s41366-023-01261-0. Epub 2023 Feb 3.

Authors

Arin C Deveci^{1

2}, Charles D G Keown-Stoneman^{3

4}, Jonathon L Maguire^{5

3

4

6

7

8}, Deborah L O'Connor^{5

9

10}, Laura N Anderson^{11

12}, Cindy-Lee Dennis^{3

13

14}, Catherine S Birken^{5

11

4

6}; TARGet Kids! Collaboration

Collaborators

TARGet Kids! Collaboration:
Jonathon L Maguire, Laura N Anderson

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. arin.c.deveci@gmail.com.
² Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. arin.c.deveci@gmail.com.
³ Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁸ Department of Pediatrics, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁹ Translational Medicine, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Department of Paediatrics, Mount Sinai Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹¹ Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹² Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
¹³ Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

PMID: 36737513
DOI: 10.1038/s41366-023-01261-0

Abstract

Background: Rapid growth and excess weight in early childhood are associated with obesity risk. While maternal preconception BMI has been identified as a potential risk factor, the role of paternal preconception BMI is less clear.

Objectives: To examine the association between paternal preconception BMI and age- and sex-standardized WHO BMI z-score (zBMI) growth rates, zBMI, and weight status, in 0- to 10-year-old children. To determine whether these associations differed by child sex and maternal preconception weight status.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted through The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!). Children (n = 218) underwent repeated measures of height and weight from birth to 10 years old. Piecewise linear mixed models were used to assess the association between paternal preconception BMI and child zBMI growth rates (zBMI SD units/month) between 0, 4, 30, 48 and 120 months of age. Linear mixed models were used to examine the association with child zBMI, and logistic generalized estimation equations (GEE) were used to assess the association with child weight status. Child sex and maternal preconception weight status were tested as effect modifiers.

Results: Paternal preconception BMI was associated with child zBMI growth rate, mean zBMI and weight status in boys, but not girls. A 5 kg/m² higher paternal preconception BMI was associated with approximately 0.01 zBMI SD unit/month higher growth rate for boys born to mothers with preconception overweight. Higher paternal BMI was associated with higher mean zBMI and increased odds of overweight and obesity in boys, with greater effects seen when mothers had preconception overweight compared to normal weight.

Conclusion: Paternal preconception BMI was associated with child zBMI growth rate, zBMI and weight status in boys, with greater effects when the biological mother had preconception overweight or obesity. Further understanding of sex differences in paternal preconception weight effects in children is needed.

MeSH terms

Body Mass Index
Child
Child, Preschool
Fathers*
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Obesity / complications
Obesity / epidemiology
Overweight* / complications
Overweight* / epidemiology