Kids' obesity, fathers' weight linked

The chance of becoming obese is higher for the children whose fathers are overweight than those who have an overweight mom but a slim dad.

Previous findings had suggested that parents' weight and dietary habits have a significant influence on their children's risk of obesity. 

The association was showed to be stronger between boys and their fathers and girls and their mom. The kids were predictably more likely to be overweight if both their parents were suffering from the same problem. 

A new study of 3,285 two-parent families in Australia, however, suggests that a father's weight has a more significant effect on the risk of obesity in his children regardless of their gender. 

According to the results which appeared in the International Journal of Obesity, having an overweight father and a healthy-weight mother increased the risk of their child to become obese by 318 percent. 

Furthermore, the odds increased to 1,388 when a father was obese. Having a normal-weight father and an overweight or obese mother had no significant association with the child's risk of obesity. 

The new study also showed that the odds of becoming much obese were greater for kids whose parents were both overweight. 

The new study “provide evidence of the important role that fathers have in the development of children's weight status and this has consequences for their long-term health outcomes,” concluded the researchers. 

The findings provide more evidence that fathers act as an influential role model in shaping up their children's health related habits such as their diet and physical activity.