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Cesarean Delivery and Body Mass Index at 6 Months and Into Childhood

Rebecca Kofod Vinding1,2, Tobias Steen Sejersen1,2, Bo L Chawes1

  • 1Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen and Danish Pediatric Asthma Center, Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Pediatrics
|August 18, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Cesarean delivery (CD) was associated with higher BMI in infants at 6 months. However, this difference in childhood obesity did not persist into later childhood, suggesting CD does not lead to long-term overweight.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Obstetrics
  • Growth and Development

Background:

  • Rising rates of cesarean delivery (CD) and childhood obesity worldwide.
  • Previous studies suggest a potential association between CD and increased childhood obesity risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between cesarean delivery and body mass index (BMI) development from birth through childhood.
  • To determine if CD influences long-term growth trajectories and obesity risk.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective birth cohort study (COPSAC2000 and COPSAC2010) including term infants.
  • Regular height, length, and weight measurements until 13 years.
  • Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans at 3.5 and 7 years.
  • Statistical analyses adjusted for relevant covariates.

Main Results:

  • Children born via CD showed a higher mean BMI at 6 months (meta-analysis: β=0.37, P=0.002).
  • No significant differences in BMI trajectory or cross-sectional BMI were observed at 5 or 13 years between CD and vaginal delivery groups.
  • Fat percentage measurements from DXA scans also showed no differences between groups.

Conclusions:

  • Cesarean delivery is linked to a transient increase in infant BMI at 6 months.
  • This early difference in BMI does not predict later childhood overweight or obesity.
  • The study does not support a causal link between cesarean delivery and long-term obesity.
Abstract

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