Seasonality and weight gain during the first year of life
Ernesto Pollitt1, James Arthur2
1Department of Applied Behavioral Science, University of California, Davis, California 95616.
Insights
Infant weight gain in Taiwan shows seasonal patterns, with higher increments in fall/winter and lower in spring/summer after the initial three months. Birth weight and length influenced early growth, but no overall weight differences were found by 12 months.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Human Growth and Development
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Seasonality can influence infant growth, particularly in tropical regions.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for monitoring infant development.
- Previous research has explored seasonal impacts on child growth globally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction between seasonality and infant developmental stages on weight gain in a tropical region.
- To determine if an infant's growth history modulates seasonal effects on weight gain.
- To compare infant weight increments across different birth seasons.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study comparing weight increments in infants born in different seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer).
- Data collected at 0-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 month intervals.
- Statistical analysis to assess the relationship between season, birth weight, length, and weight gain.
Main Results:
- No significant effect of season on weight gain during the first 0-3 months.
- Birth weight and length were significantly related to weight gain in the 0-3 month period.
- Highest weight increments observed in the fall, lowest in spring and summer during later periods of the first year.
- No significant differences in mean weight at 12 months between infants born in different seasons.
Conclusions:
- Seasonal influences on infant weight gain emerge after the initial three months of life in this tropical setting.
- Infant growth history, specifically birth size, plays a role in early weight gain.
- While seasonal variations in growth increments exist, they do not lead to significant weight differences by 12 months of age.
Abstract:
A comparison is made between weight increments at 0-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12 months of life between infants born in the fall, winter, spring, and summer seasons in Sui Lin, Taiwan. The focus of the study is on (1) whether in a tropical region the effects of seasonality on weight gain interact with the developmental stage of the infant and (2) whether these interactions are partly regulated by the growth history of the infant. The main hypothesis is that the highest growth velocities will occur in the dry, cold months of the year (fall and winter) and the lowest velocities will occur in the hot, rainy months (spring and summer). The highest and lowest mean birth weights were recorded in the spring and summer seasons, respectively. Season had no effect on weight gain during 0-3 months; on the other hand, birth weight and length were significantly related to weight gain during this 0-3 month period. In the last two seasons of the first year, the highest weight increments occurred in the fall and the lowest occurred in the spring and summer. At the end of the 12 months of life there were no weight differences between cohorts.
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