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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
[The correlation between birth weight index and excess weight in young individuals]
Elizabeth Maria Bismarck-Nasr1, Maria Fernanda Petroli Frutuoso, Ana Maria Dianezi Gambardella
1Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil. beth_bismarck@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Identification of modifiable risk factors for obesity has proven crucial for its prevention, for example inadequate intrauterine growth. The current study verified the relationship between nutritional status at birth and overweight in youth. A total of 287 individuals were evaluated, with a mean age of 15.2 years (SD 1.4). Nutritional status at birth was based on the birth weight index, and current status was based on BMI, waist circumference, and body composition. In boys there was a positive association between weight index and overweight (p = 0.05) and excess abdominal fat (p = 0.04). For girls, there was a negative association between weight index and length at birth (p = 0.00) and amount of muscle mass (p = 0.01). Girls with lower weight index presented a higher amount of total body and abdominal fat, while those with higher weight index presented lower final height (p = 0.09). The results suggest that individuals with extreme weight indices are at risk for future obesity, especially at the upper extreme for males and the lower extreme for females.
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