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Weight gain in infancy and physical development between 7 and 10 1/2 years of age
Insights
Rapid infant weight gain is linked to severe overweight in boys by age 10.5, but not in girls. Early intervention shows limited potential benefit for preventing childhood obesity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Child Health
- Growth and Development
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
- Understanding early life factors influencing weight status is crucial for prevention.
- Infant weight gain patterns may predict later overweight development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between rapid infant weight gain and overweight status at 10.5 years of age.
- To assess the potential impact of an early intervention program targeting rapid infant weight gain in boys.
- To explore the relationship between infant weight gain and changes in relative weight during later childhood.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 963 children, measuring height and weight from infancy to 10.5 years.
- Defined rapid infant weight gain using sex-specific percentiles from birth to 12 months.
- Correlational analysis to examine associations between early weight gain and later weight status and changes.
Main Results:
- No significant association found between rapid infant weight gain and overweight in girls at 10.5 years.
- Significant association observed between rapid infant weight gain and severe overweight ( >120% standard weight for height) in boys.
- Intervention simulation suggested a maximum of 12% benefit for boys treated for rapid infant weight gain.
- Factors influencing infant weight gain appeared less influential on weight changes between 7 and 10.5 years.
Conclusions:
- Rapid infant weight gain is a significant predictor of severe overweight in boys, but not girls, by pre-adolescence.
- Early intervention targeting rapid infant weight gain in boys has limited potential to prevent overweight.
- Childhood weight trajectories are influenced by factors beyond early infant weight gain patterns.
Abstract:
Heights and weights were measured in 963 10-year-old children, whose weight data from the first year of life were available. Rapid weight gain in infancy was arbitrarily defined on the basis of sex-specific percentiles of weight gain at four-month intervals and from birth to 12 months. In girls, no significant association between rapid weight gain in infancy and overweight at 10 1/2 years was found. In boys, the association was significant for severe overweight (greater than 120% of standard weight for height). An estimation of the possible benefit of an intervention programme (food restriction in all male infants with rapid weight gain) showed, however, that at the very best 12% of the boys treated in this way could be expected to gain some benefit. The result of a correlation analysis between weight gain in infancy and change in height and relative weight between 7 and 10 1/2 years suggested that the factors which determined weight gain in infancy were no longer operative at ages between 7 and 10 1/2 years.