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Updated: Oct 13, 2025
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Neonatal Anthropometrics and Obesity Treatment Response in Children and Adolescents
Ulrik Lausten-Thomsen1, Morten Asp Vonsild Lund2, Sara Elizabeth Stinson3
1Department of Neonatology, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Insights
Neonatal measurements correlate with initial obesity severity in children but do not predict treatment response. Therefore, using neonatal anthropometrics to tailor childhood obesity treatment is not recommended.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Endocrinology
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
- Early life factors, including in utero growth, may influence obesity development and treatment outcomes.
- Neonatal anthropometrics offer a potential window into early growth patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the association between neonatal anthropometric measures and childhood obesity treatment response.
- To evaluate if neonatal measurements can stratify children for obesity treatment effectiveness.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 2474 children and adolescents with obesity.
- Utilized national electronic registers for neonatal data (birth weight, length, gestational age).
- Prospectively tracked treatment response over a mean of 1.27 years.
Main Results:
- Neonatal anthropometrics (birth weight, length, large for gestational age) were linked to higher obesity severity at treatment start.
- No significant association was found between neonatal measures and the degree of treatment response.
- Children achieved a mean reduction of -0.32 in BMI SDS after treatment.
Conclusions:
- While neonatal anthropometrics reflect initial obesity burden, they do not predict response to multidisciplinary obesity treatment.
- Individualizing childhood obesity treatment based on neonatal anthropometry is not supported by these findings.
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between in utero growth conditions, as indicated by neonatal anthropometric measures, and childhood obesity treatment response, to examine the potential usefulness of neonatal anthropometrics as a potential childhood obesity treatment stratification tool.
Study Design:
The study included 2474 children and adolescents with obesity (mean age, 11.2 years; range, 5.0-18.9 years) treated at the Children's Obesity Clinic in Holbæk, Denmark. Treatment response was registered prospectively, and neonatal data were collected from national electronic registers.
Results:
Birth weight, birth length, birth weight for gestational age, and large for gestational age status were positively associated with the degree of obesity at treatment initiation. After a mean (SD) of 1.27 (0.69) years of enrollment in obesity treatment, the children exhibited a mean reduction of -0.32 (0.50) in body mass index SD score. No significant associations between neonatal anthropometric measures and childhood obesity treatment response were detected.
Conclusions:
Neonatal anthropometric measures were positively associated with the degree of obesity at treatment initiation but not with response to multidisciplinary treatment of childhood obesity. Individualization of obesity treatment based on neonatal anthropometry does not seem warranted.
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