TY - JOUR

T1 - Effects of body size and change in body size from infancy through childhood on body mass index in adulthood

AU - Bjerregaard, Lise G

AU - Rasmussen, K M

AU - Michaelsen, Kim F.

AU - Skytthe, A

AU - Mortensen, E L

AU - Baker, J L

AU - Sørensen, Thorkild I.A.

N1 - CURIS 2014 NEXS 267

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Background:Weight and weight gain throughout infancy are related to later obesity, but whether the strength of the associations varies during the infancy period is uncertain.Aims:Our aims were to identify the period of infancy when change in body weight has the strongest association with adult body mass index (BMI) and also the extent to which these associations during infancy are mediated through childhood BMI.Methods:The Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort, in which participants were followed from birth through 42 years of age, provided information on weight at 12 months and BMI at 42 years for 1633 individuals. Information on weight at birth, 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 months was retrieved from health visitors' records and information on BMI at ages 7 and 13 years from school health records. The associations of infant weight and weight gain standard deviation scores (SDS) with adult BMI-SDS were analyzed using multiple linear regression and path analysis.Results:Higher-weight-SDS at all ages from birth to an age 12 months were associated with higher-BMI-SDS at 42 years (regression coefficients 0.08-0.12). Infant weight gain-SDS was associated with greater BMI-SDS at 42 years only between birth and 3 months (0.09, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.04, 0.15) driven by an association between 2 and 3 months (0.12, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.20). The latter was partly mediated through later BMI in the path analysis. Infant weight gain-SDS between 3 and 12 months was not associated with greater BMI-SDS at 42 years.Conclusions:Faster weight gain during only the first 3 months of infancy was associated with increased adult BMI, although not in a consistent monthly pattern. Adult BMI is more sensitive to high weight gain during early infancy than late infancy, but not specifically to the first month of life.International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 15 July 2014; doi:10.1038/ijo.2014.108.

AB - Background:Weight and weight gain throughout infancy are related to later obesity, but whether the strength of the associations varies during the infancy period is uncertain.Aims:Our aims were to identify the period of infancy when change in body weight has the strongest association with adult body mass index (BMI) and also the extent to which these associations during infancy are mediated through childhood BMI.Methods:The Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort, in which participants were followed from birth through 42 years of age, provided information on weight at 12 months and BMI at 42 years for 1633 individuals. Information on weight at birth, 2 weeks, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 months was retrieved from health visitors' records and information on BMI at ages 7 and 13 years from school health records. The associations of infant weight and weight gain standard deviation scores (SDS) with adult BMI-SDS were analyzed using multiple linear regression and path analysis.Results:Higher-weight-SDS at all ages from birth to an age 12 months were associated with higher-BMI-SDS at 42 years (regression coefficients 0.08-0.12). Infant weight gain-SDS was associated with greater BMI-SDS at 42 years only between birth and 3 months (0.09, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.04, 0.15) driven by an association between 2 and 3 months (0.12, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.20). The latter was partly mediated through later BMI in the path analysis. Infant weight gain-SDS between 3 and 12 months was not associated with greater BMI-SDS at 42 years.Conclusions:Faster weight gain during only the first 3 months of infancy was associated with increased adult BMI, although not in a consistent monthly pattern. Adult BMI is more sensitive to high weight gain during early infancy than late infancy, but not specifically to the first month of life.International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 15 July 2014; doi:10.1038/ijo.2014.108.

U2 - 10.1038/ijo.2014.108

DO - 10.1038/ijo.2014.108

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 24942870

VL - 38

SP - 1305

EP - 1311

JO - International Journal of Obesity

JF - International Journal of Obesity

SN - 0307-0565

IS - 10

ER -