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Updated: May 5, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Association between infancy BMI peak and body composition and blood pressure at age 5-6 years
Michel H P Hof1, Tanja G M Vrijkotte, Marieke L A de Hoog
1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Bioinformatics, and Biostatistics, Academic Medical Center-University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Department of Public Health, Academic Medical Center-University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
The early body mass index (BMI) peak in infancy is linked to higher body composition in childhood. BMI at 9 months can effectively predict this early BMI peak.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Childhood Obesity Research
- Growth and Development Studies
Background:
- Childhood overweight is commonly assessed using body mass index (BMI).
- Key developmental points in childhood BMI include the adiposity rebound (around 6 years) and the BMI peak (around 9 months).
- This study examines the relationship between the infant BMI peak and later body composition and blood pressure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between the infant BMI peak and body composition measures at 5-6 years of age.
- To explore the link between the infant BMI peak and blood pressure at 5-6 years of age.
- To evaluate the utility of 9-month BMI as a surrogate for the infant BMI peak's magnitude.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) study.
- Analyzed blood pressure and body composition (BMI, waist-to-height ratio, fat percentage) at approximately 6 years in 2822 children.
- Extracted child-specific BMI peaks using mixed-effects models from measurements between 0-4 years and analyzed associations with linear models.
Main Results:
- Both the timing and magnitude of the BMI peak were significantly associated with all body composition measures at 5-6 years (p<0.001), after adjusting for fetal growth.
- The BMI peak did not directly correlate with blood pressure at 5-6 years, but this association was mediated by current BMI.
- A strong correlation (approx. 0.93) was observed between the magnitude of the BMI peak and BMI at 9 months, with similar associations for later health measures.
Conclusions:
- The magnitude of the infant BMI peak is significantly associated with childhood body composition.
- Body mass index at 9 months serves as a reliable surrogate measure for the magnitude of the infant BMI peak.
Introduction:
The development of overweight is often measured with the body mass index (BMI). During childhood the BMI curve has two characteristic points: the adiposity rebound at 6 years and the BMI peak at 9 months of age. In this study, the associations between the BMI peak and body composition measures and blood pressure at age 5-6 years were investigated.
Methods:
Measurements from the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) study were available for this study. Blood pressure (systolic and diastolic) and body composition measures (BMI, waist-to-height ratio, fat percentage) were gathered during a health check at about 6 years of age (n = 2822). All children had multiple BMI measurements between the 0-4 years of age. For boys and girls separately, child-specific BMI peaks were extracted from mixed effect models. Associations between the estimated BMI peak and the health check measurements were analysed with linear models. In addition, we investigated the potential use of the BMI at 9 months as a surrogate measure for the magnitude of the BMI peak.
Results:
After correction for the confounding effect of fetal growth, both timing and magnitude of the BMI peak were significantly and positively associated (p<0.001) with all body composition measures at the age of 5-6 years. The BMI peak showed no direct association with blood pressure at the age 5-6 year, but was mediated by the current BMI. The correlation between the magnitude of the BMI peak and BMI at 9 months was approximately 0.93 and similar associations with the measures at 5-6 years were found.
Conclusion:
The magnitude of the BMI peak was associated with body composition measures at 5-6 years of age. Moreover, the BMI at 9 months could be used as surrogate measure for the magnitude of the BMI peak.
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