Resemblance of nutrient intakes in three generations of parent-offspring pairs: Tehran lipid and Glucose Study

The degree of maintaining nutrient intake patterns, conformed in the family, for offspring into adulthood is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between nutrient intakes in three younger-middle-older generations of Tehranian adults by sex. Of individuals who participated in 2012–15 phase of the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study, 1286 families (4685 subjects), who had at least two members of the family with complete data in two or three generations were entered in this cross-sectional study. The energy and nutrient intakes of parents and their young or adult offspring or grandparents-grandson/granddaughter dyads were compared. The differences were estimated using pairwise t-test and partial correlation. Data of parents with their offspring were paired based on living arrangement. There were 857 fathers (mean age: 55.4±11.1) and 1394 mothers (mean age: 50.1±11.4). The mean age of grandfathers and grandmothers were 69.4±7.9 and 63.7±8.5 respectively. The significant correlation in fathers-sons and father-daughter (living with their parents) pairs were observed for 9 and 7 nutrients, respectively. Correlations for most nutrients were significant for mother-daughter or sons (living with their parents) dyads. The mean percentage of energy from total fat and trans-fatty acids of sons or daughters (living with their parents) were higher than their parents. For most nutrients, there were no significant adjusted correlations between parents-adult offspring (living independent of their parents) dyads. Also few nutrient intakes of grandparents-grandson or granddaughter dyads were correlated. The nutrient intakes of adult offspring were not associated with their parents; this correlation for younger and older generations disappeared. There were weak to moderate correlation between nutrient intakes of parent-offspring dyads that lived with their parents. The resemblance was higher for mother-offspring than father-offspring. Overall, total fat and trans-fatty acid intakes of young offspring were higher than their parents.