(RxWiki News) Dad's weight may be tied to his child's personal-social functioning, according to a new study.
And while past research has shown a similar link between mothers and their babies, this is the first study to look at obesity in both mothers and fathers and the potential effects on children's development.
The researchers behind this study found that obesity in the mother was tied to delays in the child's fine motor development. Obesity in the father was tied to delays in personal-social functioning.
This study used data from the Upstate KIDS study, which included more than 5,000 women. These women had given birth in New York from 2008 to 2010. These researchers looked at the results of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) completed by parents at 4, 8, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months after delivery.
The ASQ is used to screen for delays in five developmental domains, which include gross motor, fine motor, communication, problem-solving and personal-social functioning.
Speak to your health care provider about maintaining a healthy weight and keeping your family healthy.
This study was recently published in the journal Pediatrics.
The Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institutes of Health funded this research.
The authors disclosed no conflicts of interest.
