Infant Weight Gain and Childhood Overweight Status in a Multicenter, Cohort Study

DOI PDF 12 Citations
  • Nicolas Stettler
    The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Babette S. Zemel
    The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Shiriki Kumanyika
    Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Virginia A. Stallings
    The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Abstract

<jats:p>Objective. To determine whether a rapid rate of weight gain in early infancy is associated with overweight status in childhood.</jats:p> <jats:p>Design. Prospective, cohort study from birth to age 7 years.</jats:p> <jats:p>Setting. Twelve sites across the United States.</jats:p> <jats:p>Participants. Twenty-seven thousand, eight hundred ninety-nine (27 899) eligible participants born at full term between 1959 and 1965.</jats:p> <jats:p>Main Outcome Measure. Overweight status at age 7 years, defined by a body mass index above the 95th percentile of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference data.</jats:p> <jats:p>Results. In the 19 397 participants with complete data (69.6%), the prevalence of overweight status at age 7 years was 5.4%. The rate of weight gain during the first 4 months of life (as 100 g/month) was associated with being overweight at age 7 years, after adjustment for several confounding factors: odds ratio: 1.38; 95% confidence interval: 1.32–1.44. This association was present in each birth weight quintile, and remained significant after adjustment for the weight attained at age 1 year (odds ratio: 1.17; 95% confidence interval: 1.11–1.24).</jats:p> <jats:p>Conclusions. A pattern of rapid weight gain during the first 4 months of life was associated with an increased risk of overweight status at age 7 years, independent of birth weight and weight attained at age 1 year. These findings may lead to new hypotheses regarding the cause of childhood obesity, which may contribute to our understanding of this increasing public health problem in the United States.</jats:p>

Journal

  • Pediatrics

    Pediatrics 109 (2), 194-199, 2002-02-01

    American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

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