Abstract:Objective To investigate the association of parental weight status with the risk of overweight/obesity in offspring. Methods A survey was conducted on the physical development of kindergarten children from March to June 2021 among 5 129 children and their parents from 3 communities in Shanghai Pudong New Area. The body height and weight of children were measured, and an electronic questionnaire of basic information and socioeconomic status was filled by their parents. The children were categorized into an overweight/obese group and a non-overweight group based on their weight status. Binary logistic regression was employed to analyze the correlation between parental weight status and offspring overweight/obesity risk. Results The prevalence of overweight/obesity in children was 21.4%, that in fathers and mothers was 52.1% and 17.5%, respectively. After adjusting for children’s birth condition, exercise time, eating habits, maternal health during pregnancy, parental age and socioeconomic level, compared with children with non-overweight parents, the risk of overweight/obese in girls and boys, whose parents were in overweight/obese, was increased(OR=3.69, 95%CI: 2.64-5.15, P<0.001 and OR=2.80, 95%CI: 2.09-3.76, P<0.001, respectively), and the risk was the highest in children aged 3 to 4 years(OR=4.18, 95%CI: 1.65-10.57, P=0.003). When the mother was overweight/obese, children aged 3 to 4 years had the highest risk of overweight/obesity(OR=2.66, 95%CI: 1.27-5.57, P=0.01). With an increase in age, the relevance between mother-offspring became leveled off; however, the relevance between father-offspring became stronger. Conclusion Parental overweight/obesity is a risk factor for overweight/obesity in offspring. The highest risk was observed in children aged 3 to 4 years when both parents are overweight/obese or when only the mother was overweight/obese. The risk of overweight/obesity in offspring varies with the weight status of parents, gender, and age of offspring.