Is difficult temperament related to overweight and rapid early weight gain in infants? A prospective cohort study
Susan Niegel1, Eivind Ystrom, Margarete E Vollrath
1Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Division of Mental Health, University of Oslo, Norway. susan.niegel@fhi.no
Insights
Infant difficult temperament showed a slight association with rapid weight gain in the first six months but not with overweight status at birth or six months. These findings suggest temperament may not be a clinically relevant predictor of early childhood overweight.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood overweight is a growing concern with established links to early life weight gain.
- Temperamental risk factors for overweight are known in older children but understudied in infancy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between difficult infant temperament and overweight status.
- To investigate the association between infant temperament and rapid weight gain in the first six months of life.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 29,182 infants in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study.
- Infant temperament assessed at 6 months; overweight status and weight gain analyzed from birth to 6 months.
- Data sourced from birth registry, health charts, and maternal reports, with adjustments for covariates.
Main Results:
- Difficult infant temperament showed a slight negative association with birth overweight status, but no significant association with overweight at 6 months.
- A slight positive association was observed between difficult temperament and rapid weight gain during the first six months.
- Adjustments were made for infant sex, feeding method, maternal factors, and parental education.
Conclusions:
- The observed associations between infant temperament and early weight status/gain were statistically significant but not clinically relevant.
- Future research should investigate if temperament's influence on weight status becomes more pronounced with age.
Objective:
Childhood overweight and rapid weight gain during the first months of life have been shown to be major risk factors for the development of later overweight. Studies in children show that there are temperamental risk factors for the development of overweight, but little is known about early infancy.
Methods:
The present study investigated the relationship of infant difficult temperament, assessed at age 6 months, with overweight status at birth and at 6 months of age and with rapid weight gain during this period. Data collection was conducted as part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (1999-2006). The analyses are based on data retrieved from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, health charts, and maternal reports during pregnancy and when the child was 6 months of age. After application of eligibility criteria, 29,182 infants could be included in the study.
Results:
In adjusting for infants' sex, formula feeding, maternal age, body mass index and diabetic status, and parental duration of education, infant difficult temperament was slightly negatively associated with overweight status at birth but not at age 6 months. In addition, infant difficult temperament was slightly positively associated with rapid weight gain during the first 6 months of life.
Conclusions:
Despite statistical significance, these associations do not appear to be clinically relevant. Future studies should explore whether the impact of temperament increases with age.
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