STAYING fit and healthy could not only improve your own health, but also limit risk to your grandchildren.
A University of Queensland study is one of the world's first to look at whether obesity and chronic disease can be passed down three generations.
Lead researcher Dr Abdullah Al Mamun said initial research suggested if your grandparents were obese, you had a greater chance of being obese as well.
The obesity of maternal grandmothers appeared to have a much greater impact on grandchildren than that of paternal grandmothers.
"As genetic and lifestyle factors are shared equally across maternal and paternal lines, the stronger association with the maternal grandmother may suggest that a pregnant woman's diet and her exposure to conditions such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure may have an impact not only on her child but her grandchild," he said.
The link appeared to be stronger when grandparents also suffered from chronic conditions linked to obesity including type 2 diabetes, asthma, depression and sleep problems.
Dr Mamun said researchers would examine how poor diet, little exercise, sedentary behaviour, alcohol and tobacco use, and socio-economic disadvantage could increase the prevalence of obesity in subsequent generations.
"We hope that by examining these links we can better understand the long-term impact of obesity in families and help identify how early intervention can prevent childhood and adolescent obesity," he said.
The research will involve almost 7000 participants in the Mater-University of Queensland study of pregnancy.
