Environmental factors and familial aggregation of obesity in a Brazilian population assisted by the Family Doctor Program(FDP)
F. Neves Pinto1, G. Peres Cardoso2, E. Massae Yokoo1, M. Cagy1, S.C. dos Santos Gomes Jr3, H. Chung Kan4, V. de Miranda Alcoforado5, R.T. Saraiva de Jesus1, and M.L. Garcia Rosa1
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Universidade Federal Fluminense, 2Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty ofMedicine, Universidade Federal Fluminense, 3Instituto Fernandes Figueira, 4Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal Fluminense, 5Fundação Municipal de Saúde de Niterói (Municipal Foundation of Health of Niterói)

Abstract

Background and aims: It is generally assumed that familial aggregation of obesity relates to both genetic and shared environmental factors. We investigated the contribution of environmental variables to familial aggregation of obesity in families assisted by the Family Doctor Program (FDP) in a Brazilian city. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, the body mass index, demographic, socio-economic, dietary, lifestyle and comorbidities variables, were examined in each individual of 359 families. Pearson correlations of obesity between family members were estimated with the FCOR (S.A.G.E). The crude and adjusted odds ratio of obesity was estimated by Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). Results: Therewas relatively high correlations between spouses (r=0.16, p=0.03), for parent/child pairs (r=0.15, p<0.001) and between siblings (r=0.20, p=0.022). After control for sex and comorbidities, the correlation decreased for the parent-child pair. After the inclusion of smoking and food groups, there was a slight decrease in the correlation among siblings. Among couples, after the inclusion of control variables, the correlation increased. Conclusions: We observed a contribution of environmental factors to the familial aggregation of obesity, once we observed change in the correlation after adjusting. Future studies should explore the risks shared by families to better target appropriate intervention to minimize the burden of obesity. Obesity and Metabolism 2010; 6: 131-137.

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