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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Association Between Fat Mass in Early Life and Later Fat Mass Trajectories
Kirsten S de Fluiter1, Inge A L P van Beijsterveldt1, Laura M Breij1
1Department of Pediatrics, Subdivision of Endocrinology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Insights
Rapid infant fat mass percentage increase in the first 6 months is linked to higher adiposity by age 2. This suggests a critical window for early-life adiposity programming.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Biology
- Public Health
Background:
- Early life rapid weight gain is linked to future adiposity and cardiovascular disease risk.
- Limited data exists on the association between early changes in fat mass percentage (FM%) and long-term adiposity development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if a rapid increase in FM% during the first months of life predicts higher body fat mass trajectories up to age 2.
- To investigate the critical window for adiposity programming in early life.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal analysis of 401 healthy infants from the Sophia Pluto Cohort Study.
- FM% measured via air-displacement plethysmography and DXA; abdominal fat via ultrasonography at multiple time points up to 24 months.
- Rapid FM% increase defined as >0.67 standard deviation scores (SDS); associations with body composition at age 2 analyzed.
Main Results:
- A rapid increase in FM% SDS between 1-6 months was associated with higher FM%, fat mass index (FMI), and subcutaneous abdominal fat at age 2.
- No significant associations were found for the 6-12 month period.
- Infants with rapid early FM% increase showed higher FM% and FMI trajectories, but not visceral fat, during the first 2 years.
Conclusions:
- Early-life (first 6 months) rapid FM% increase is a significant predictor of increased adiposity by age 2.
- Findings support the hypothesis of a critical window for adiposity programming in infancy.
- Early monitoring of infant body composition may be crucial for identifying risks of later-life obesity.
Importance:
A rapid increase in weight in early life is associated with an increased risk for adiposity and cardiovascular diseases at age 21 years and beyond. However, data on associations of early change in measured fat mass percentage (FM%) with adiposity development are lacking.
Objective:
To investigate whether a rapid increase in FM% in the first months of life is associated with higher trajectories of body fat mass during the first 2 years of life.
Design, Setting, And Participants:
A birth cohort consisting of 401 healthy, term-born infants of the Sophia Pluto Cohort Study was analyzed. Participants were born between January 7, 2013, and October 13, 2017. Data were analyzed from February 1, 2020, to May 20, 2020.
Interventions:
Longitudinal measurements of FM% by air-displacement plethysmography and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and abdominal subcutaneous and visceral fat mass (FM) by ultrasonography in infants at ages 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. A rapid increase in FM% was defined as a change in FM% of greater than 0.67 standard deviation scores (SDS).
Main Outcomes And Measures:
Associations between change in FM% SDS in the first and second 6-month period of life with body composition at age 2 years and whether a rapid increase in FM% SDS during the first 6 months leads to higher body FM and abdominal FM trajectories during the first 2 years of life.
Results:
Of the 401 participants, 228 infants (57%) were male. Change in FM% SDS from age 1 to 6 months was positively associated with FM% (β, 0.044; 95% CI, 0.017-0.068), FMI (β, 0.061; 95% CI, 0.032-0.091), and abdominal subcutaneous FM (β, 0.064; 95% CI, 0.036-0.092) at age 2 years, but not with visceral FM. In contrast, no associations were found within the 6- to 12-month period. Infants with a rapid increase in FM% of greater than 0.67 SDS in the first 6 months of life had higher trajectories of FM%, FM index, and subcutaneous FM during the first 2 years of life (all P≤.001), but visceral FM index was not significantly different compared with infants without a rapid increase (P = .12).
Conclusions And Relevance:
In this study, only the change in FM% in the first 6 months of life was associated with more adiposity at age 2 years. Infants with a rapid increase in FM% had higher trajectories of FM% and FM index during the first 2 years of life. These findings appear to support a critical window for adiposity programming in early life.
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