Related Experiment Videos
Risk in childhood of development of severe adult obesity: retrospective, population-based case-cohort study
1Obesity Research Group, Herlev University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Insights
Childhood obesity significantly increases the risk of adult obesity, with higher body mass index (BMI) in youth correlating exponentially with adult outcomes. Maintaining BMI percentile from age seven to 13 is key to reducing severe adult obesity risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Human Growth and Development
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern with potential long-term consequences.
- Understanding the trajectory of fatness from childhood to adulthood is crucial for effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between childhood body mass index (BMI) and the risk of severe adult obesity.
- To investigate the impact of BMI percentile changes during childhood on adult obesity risk.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study of severely obese young males (BMI ≥ 31 kg/m2) and a control group from Danish draftees (born 1930-1956).
- Analysis of body mass index (weight/height2) data from ages 7 to 13 years.
- Logistic regression was used to assess the risk of developing severe adult obesity.
Main Results:
- Severely obese children exhibited significantly higher BMI than the general population sample from age seven onwards.
- The risk of severe adult obesity increased exponentially with increasing childhood BMI.
- Children whose BMI percentile changed between ages 7 and 13 had a higher risk of adult obesity compared to those who maintained their percentile.
Conclusions:
- Childhood BMI is a strong predictor of severe adult obesity.
- Fluctuations in BMI percentile during childhood, not just absolute BMI, are associated with increased adult obesity risk.
- While most obese children do not become severely obese adults, early and sustained high BMI indicates a significant risk.
Abstract:
Recent studies have shown a weak continuity of fatness from childhood through adulthood within the central part of the population distribution. This study presents body mass index values (weight/height2) from ages 7-13 years for the 429 severely obese young males with a body mass index of at least 31 kg/m2 among 93,800 draftees born between 1930 and 1956 inclusive who attended school and underwent draft board examination in Copenhagen. This group was compared with a random 1% sample from the same draftee population. At age seven years, the obese group already had a much higher body mass index than did the population sample, and the deviation increased as the children grew older. The risk of becoming a severely obese adult increased exponentially over the entire range of body mass index in childhood. Logistic regression analysis showed that 13-year-old overweight children who had either decreased or increased in percentile level since age seven years had a higher risk of developing severe adult obesity than did 13-year-old children who had maintained their percentile level. However, most obese children did not develop severe obesity in adulthood, and only a few had been severely obese throughout.