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A new study suggests that factors beyond individual control—such as socioeconomic status and maternal health—can significantly influence the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese later in life. Led by Glenna Nightingale of the University of Edinburgh, the research was published on 26 March 2025 in PLOS ONE. Using data from the 1958 National Child Development Study, which tracked over 17,000 people born in one week in March 1958 across England, Scotland, and Wales, researchers examined weight outcomes at ages 16 and 42.
They considered a range of early-life and social factors, including birth order, delivery method, job type, maternal smoking, and maternal obesity. The study found that if a mother smoked or was obese, her child had a significantly higher risk of being obese or severely obese—both as a teenager and as an adult. These associations remained strong even before and after the rise in obesity rates in the UK, indicating that individual behaviours alone do not explain the current obesity crisis.
Researchers conclude that early-life and societal risk factors should be considered in obesity prevention efforts, and call for new studies focused on community-level drivers behind the global obesity epidemic. Source : PLOS One A new study suggests that factors beyond individual control—such as socioeconomic status and maternal health—can significantly influence the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese later in life. Led by Glenna Nightingale of the University of Edinburgh, the research was published on 26 March 2025 in PLOS ONE.
Using data from the 1958 National Child Development Study, which tracked over 17,000 people born in one week in March 1958 across England, Scotland, and Wales, researchers examined weight outcomes at ages 16 and 42. They considered a range of early-life and social factors, including birth order, delivery method, job type, maternal smoking, and maternal obesity. The study found that if a mother smoked or was obese, her child had a significantly higher risk of being obese or severely obese—both as a teenager and as an adult.
These associations remained strong even before and after the rise in obesity rates in the UK, indicating that individual behaviours alone do not explain the current obesity crisis. Researchers conclude that early-life and societal risk factors should be considered in obesity prevention efforts, and call for new studies focused on community-level drivers behind the global obesity epidemic. Source : PLOS One.
