Association between Parent’s Metabolic Syndrome and 12-to-18-Year-Old Offspring’s Overweight: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (K-NHANES) 2009–2016

Background. Little information is available on the association between parents’ metabolic syndrome (MetS) and adolescent offspring’s obesity in Korea. The aim of our study is to determine the association between parent’s metabolic syndrome and offspring’s obesity. Methods. The study data were obtained from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted during 2009–2016. In the present study, 3140 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, their paternal pairs (PP, fathers = 2244), and maternal pairs (MP, mothers = 3022) were analyzed. Of these 3140 adolescents, 2637 had normal weight {age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) under the 85^th percentile}, whereas 467 were overweight (age- and sex-specific BMI over the 85^th percentile). Results. Offspring’s overweight and central obesity were associated with all components of the PP’s metabolic risk factors, including central obesity (p < 0.001), systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), glucose intolerance (p < 0.001), and triglyceride (p < 0.002) and high-density lipoprotein levels (p = 0.049). In addition, offspring’s overweight and central obesity were also associated with the metabolic risk factors of MP, including central obesity (p < 0.001), systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (p < 0.001), glucose intolerance (p < 0.001), and triglyceride levels (p < 0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, offspring’s overweight was significantly and positively associated with parental central obesity (PP, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.593; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.192–2.128; MP, adjusted OR = 2.221, 95% CI: 1.755–2.812) and parental metabolic syndrome (PP, adjusted OR = 2.032; 95% CI: 1.451–2.846; MP, adjusted OR = 2.972, 95% CI: 2.239–3.964). As the number of parental metabolic risk factors increased, offspring’s risk for overweight and central obesity increased (p for trends < 0.001). Conclusion. Parental metabolic syndrome was associated with obesity in 12- to 18-year-old offspring in Korea.