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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Late Preschool BMI Acceleration as the Strongest Predictor of Childhood Cardiometabolic Risk at School Entry: A

Shuang Zhang1, Jinnan Liu1, Weiqin Li1

  • 1Tianjin Women and Children's Health Center, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.

Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity : Targets and Therapy
|June 24, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Late rapid childhood body mass index (BMI) growth significantly impacts cardiometabolic risk by age 6. Maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) showed minimal direct effects, highlighting the critical preschool window for intervention.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology
  • Maternal-fetal medicine
  • Cardiometabolic health

Background:

  • Gestational weight gain (GWG) and offspring BMI trajectories are linked to childhood metabolic health.
  • Understanding these associations is crucial for early intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the independent and combined effects of maternal GWG patterns and offspring BMI growth trajectories on lipid and glycemic profiles at age 6.
  • To identify critical periods for intervention in childhood cardiometabolic risk.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 39,169 mother-child pairs from the Tianjin Women and Children Health Cohort.
  • Categorization of maternal GWG into four trajectories and offspring BMI into four trajectories (birth to age 6).
  • Multivariable linear regression and ANOVA to assess associations with triglycerides, total cholesterol, and fasting glucose.

Main Results:

  • Late rapid offspring BMI growth (after age 3) was the strongest predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes (higher triglycerides and glucose).
  • Persistent low BMI trajectory was associated with lower triglycerides and glucose.
  • Maternal GWG showed minimal independent association with offspring lipid/glycemic profiles after adjusting for child's BMI.

Conclusions:

  • Late preschool BMI acceleration is a key factor for cardiometabolic risk at school entry.
  • Maternal GWG primarily influences childhood growth rather than directly impacting metabolic profiles.
  • The preschool period is a critical window for monitoring BMI trajectories and implementing targeted interventions.
Abstract

Keywords:
BMI trajectorycardiometabolic riskchildhood obesitygestational weight gainpreschooltriglycerides

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