Parental body mass index (BMI) and birth weight can moderate mortality rate (MR) in infants. To determine the strength of this association, UK researchers studied the data of 18,059 infants from the 1958 National Child Development Study. The findings are as follows: Individuals with higher birth weight – BMI and MR are weakly related (p-value =0.148) Individuals born to mothers with higher BMI – BMI and MR are strongly related (p-value = 0.032) Parental BMI > 25 kg/m 2 + low birth weight of the infant – High Mortality Rate No effect of paternal BMI if the offspring’s BMI is below 20 kg/m 2 These insights are valuable for understanding the increase in obesity incidence, a major health concern in many countries.
It is essential that we continue to conduct research in this area, to better understand the impact of obesity on infant mortality rates. Do you think parental BMI could be…
