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Age-Specific Quantification of Overweight/Obesity Risk Factors From Infancy to Adolescence and Differences by

Claudia Börnhorst1, Wolfgang Ahrens1,2, Stefaan De Henauw3

  • 1Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology (BIPS), Bremen, Germany.

International Journal of Public Health
|November 30, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Childhood body mass index (BMI) trajectories are influenced by risk factors, with social vulnerabilities playing a key role, particularly around ages 9-11 years.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Health
  • Obesity Research
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
  • Understanding risk factors and their impact on body mass index (BMI) trajectories is crucial.
  • Parental educational level may influence exposure to risk factors and subsequent BMI outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate age-dependent associations between various risk factors and BMI in children.
  • To examine how these associations differ based on parental educational attainment.
  • To identify critical periods for intervention in childhood BMI development.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of data from 10,310 children (aged 2-16 years) in a multi-center European cohort (2007-2014).
  • Utilized polynomial mixed-effects models to estimate trajectories of risk factors and their age-specific associations with BMI.
  • Compared risk factor exposure and BMI associations between parental educational groups.

Main Results:

  • Higher exposure to unfavorable factors (e.g., PC/TV time) observed in lower parental education groups.
  • Risk factor trajectories showed significant changes around ages 9-11 years.
  • Family history of obesity, maternal BMI, pregnancy weight gain, and birth weight consistently associated with BMI; behavioral factors had smaller associations. Social vulnerabilities (parental unemployment, migrant background) linked to higher BMI in lower education group.

Conclusions:

  • Parental education did not significantly alter most risk factor-BMI associations, except for social vulnerabilities.
  • The 9-11 year age range may represent a sensitive period for developing unfavorable behaviors impacting BMI.
  • Targeted interventions considering socioeconomic factors and sensitive developmental periods are warranted.

Keywords:
IDEFICS/I.Family cohortbody mass indexchildhood overweight/obesityoverweight/obesity risk factorsparental education

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