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Infant weight gain and childhood overweight status in a multicenter, cohort study
Nicolas Stettler1, Babette S Zemel, Shiriki Kumanyika
1The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4399, USA. nstettle@cceb.med.upenn.edu
Insights
Rapid weight gain in the first four months of life is linked to childhood overweight. This early infant growth pattern increases the risk of being overweight by age seven.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern in the United States.
- Understanding early life factors contributing to obesity is crucial for prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between rapid infant weight gain and childhood overweight status.
- To determine if early growth patterns predict later obesity.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study involving 27,899 participants from birth to age 7.
- Overweight status defined by body mass index (BMI) above the 95th percentile (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standards).
Main Results:
- A rapid rate of weight gain in the first 4 months was significantly associated with overweight status at age 7 (OR: 1.38).
- This association persisted even after adjusting for birth weight and weight at age 1 year (OR: 1.17).
Conclusions:
- Rapid infant weight gain is an independent risk factor for childhood overweight.
- Findings suggest early growth patterns are critical in the development of childhood obesity.
Objective:
To determine whether a rapid rate of weight gain in early infancy is associated with overweight status in childhood.
Design:
Prospective, cohort study from birth to age 7 years.
Setting:
Twelve sites across the United States.
Participants:
Twenty-seven thousand, eight hundred ninety-nine (27 899) eligible participants born at full term between 1959 and 1965.
Main Outcome Measure:
Overweight status at age 7 years, defined by a body mass index above the 95th percentile of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference data.
Results:
In the 19 397 participants with complete data (69.6%), the prevalence of overweight status at age 7 years was 5.4%. The rate of weight gain during the first 4 months of life (as 100 g/month) was associated with being overweight at age 7 years, after adjustment for several confounding factors: odds ratio: 1.38; 95% confidence interval: 1.32-1.44. This association was present in each birth weight quintile, and remained significant after adjustment for the weight attained at age 1 year (odds ratio: 1.17; 95% confidence interval: 1.11-1.24).
Conclusions:
A pattern of rapid weight gain during the first 4 months of life was associated with an increased risk of overweight status at age 7 years, independent of birth weight and weight attained at age 1 year. These findings may lead to new hypotheses regarding the cause of childhood obesity, which may contribute to our understanding of this increasing public health problem in the United States.