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Updated: May 19, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Weight and weight gain during early infancy predict childhood obesity: a case-cohort study
L G Andersen1, C Holst, K F Michaelsen
1Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark. lg@ipm.regionh.dk
Insights
Infant weight and rapid weight gain in early infancy are linked to childhood obesity. Targeting early weight gain shortly after birth may help prevent obesity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Obesity Research
- Public Health
Background:
- Infant weight and weight gain are recognized predictors of later obesity.
- The specific critical periods during infancy for this association remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the timing and mechanisms linking infant weight and weight gain to childhood obesity.
- To identify key developmental stages in infancy associated with obesity risk.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study of 28,340 children born 1959-1967 in Copenhagen.
- Weight data from birth to 9 months analyzed using logistic regression.
- Adjusted for socioeconomic status, preterm birth, and breastfeeding.
Main Results:
- Higher infant weight (upper tertile) correlated with increased childhood obesity risk from birth to 9 months (OR 1.36-1.72).
- Lower infant weight (lower tertile) was associated with reduced obesity risk from 2 to 9 months.
- Consistent risk increase (approx. 1.5-fold per tertile) observed with weight gain throughout infancy.
Conclusions:
- Infant weight and weight gain in early life are significantly associated with childhood obesity.
- Interventions targeting weight gain determinants shortly after birth show promise for obesity prevention.
Background:
Infant weight and weight gain are positively associated with later obesity, but whether there is a particular critical time during infancy remains uncertain.
Objective:
The aim was to investigate when and how weight and weight gain during infancy become associated with childhood obesity.
Methods:
In a cohort representing 28 340 children born from 1959-67 and measured in Copenhagen schools, 962 obese children (2007 World Health Organization criteria), were compared with a 5% randomly selected sub-cohort of 1417 children. Information on weight at birth, 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9 months was retrieved from health visitors' records. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for childhood obesity by tertiles of weight at each age and by change in tertiles of weight between two consecutive measurements were estimated using multivariate logistic regression with adjustment for indicators of socioeconomic status, preterm birth, and breastfeeding.
Results:
Compared with children in the middle weight-tertile, children with a weight in the upper tertile had a 1.36-fold (CI, 1.10-1.69) to 1.72-fold (CI, 1.36-2.18) higher risk of childhood obesity from birth through 9 months, whereas children in the lower weight-tertile had almost half the risk of obesity from 2 through 9 months. The risk of childhood obesity associated with change in weight-tertile in each interval was stable at ∼1.5-fold per weight-tertile increase throughout infancy.
Conclusions:
Infant weight and weight gain are associated with obesity in childhood already during the first months of life. Determinants of weight gain shortly after birth may be a suitable target for prevention of obesity.
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