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Longitudinal study of thinness from birth to early childhood: the association with parental thinness

Rena Kato1, Masaru Kubota, Yukie Higashiyama

  • 1Faculty of Human Life and Environment, Nara Women's University, Nara, Japan.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|October 3, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Tracking childhood thinness from birth is crucial. Paternal thinness is linked to thinness in boys, highlighting the need for early weight monitoring.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Epidemiology
  • Childhood Growth and Development

Background:

  • Epidemiological data on childhood thinness, especially in early years, is scarce.
  • Understanding the trajectory of thinness from infancy to age five is essential for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence and developmental patterns of thinness in 5-year-old children.
  • To compare thin children with normal-weight peers from birth.
  • To explore the association between parental thinness and childhood thinness.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 2678 Japanese children aged 5 years was studied.
  • Childhood thinness was defined as body mass index (BMI) below the fifth percentile.
  • Parental thinness was defined as BMI <18.5; anthropometric data were collected from birth.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of thinness at age 5 was 4%, with no gender disparity.
  • Thin children consistently exhibited lower weight z-scores and BMI percentiles from birth.
  • A lower weight z-score increase between birth and 1.5 years was observed in thin children.
  • Paternal thinness was associated with thinness in boys.

Conclusions:

  • Early and continuous monitoring of body weight from birth is vital for preventing childhood thinness.
  • Paternal thinness may serve as a predictive risk factor for thinness in male children.
Abstract

Keywords:
Body mass indexEarly childhoodLongitudinal studyParentsThinness

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