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Is infant body mass index associated with adulthood body composition trajectories? An exploratory analysis

W Johnson1, A C Choh2, M Lee2,3

  • 1MRC Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, UK.

Pediatric Obesity
|January 13, 2016
PubMed

Insights

High infant body mass index (BMI) is linked to greater lean mass in adulthood, not fat mass. This suggests caution when targeting infant BMI for obesity prevention due to potential benefits of lean mass.

Area of Science:

  • Human growth and development
  • Obesity research
  • Body composition analysis

Background:

  • Infant body mass index (BMI) is increasingly utilized as an indicator of future obesity risk.
  • Its association with young-adulthood BMI is a key driver for this trend.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between infant BMI and fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) in young adulthood.
  • To examine how these associations evolve throughout adulthood.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Fels Longitudinal Study, measuring infant BMI Z-score at 9 months in 350 participants.
  • Employed multilevel models to analyze associations with BMI, FMI, and FFMI trajectories from age 20 to 60 years.

Main Results:

  • Infant BMI Z-score was positively associated with fat-free mass index (FFMI) at age 20, but not fat mass index (FMI).
  • Higher infant BMI Z-score correlated with slower age-related increases in body composition measures.
  • Only FFMI at age 30 remained significantly associated with infant BMI Z-score.

Conclusions:

  • Reducing infant BMI for adult obesity prevention may require careful consideration.
  • High infant BMI is linked to increased lean mass, which may offer protection against age-related body composition changes.
Abstract

Keywords:
Body compositionbody fatbody mass indexcohort studiespaediatric obesitysarcopenia

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