Document Detail


Stability of the association between birth weight and childhood overweight during the development of the obesity epidemic.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16421354     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVE: To assess whether changes in the birth weight distribution or changes in the association of birth weight with the later risk of childhood overweight have contributed to the development of the obesity epidemic. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A Danish population-based cohort study of 124,615 girls and 128,346 boys (ages 6 to 13 years), born between 1936 and 1983, were studied. Birth weight and annual measurements of height and weight were obtained from school health records. Overweight was defined by BMI in relation to internationally accepted criteria. The relative risk of being overweight by birth weight was calculated separately for each age, sex, and time period. RESULTS: The birth weight distribution remained relatively stable over time. Compared with children with a birth weight of 3.0 to 3.5 kg, the risk of overweight increased consistently with each increase in birth weight category among girls and boys and at all ages between 6 and 13 years. Furthermore, the association between birth weight and increased risk of overweight in childhood remained stable across a 48-year period. DISCUSSION: The increase in the prevalence of overweight could not be explained by time trends in the distribution of birth weight or by changes in the association between birth weight and the later risk of overweight over time. This implies that, unless the prenatal environment influences the later risk of overweight without increasing birth weight, the environmental influences contributing to the obesity epidemic in children of school age operate in the early postnatal period.
Authors:
Susi Rugholm; Jennifer L Baker; Lina W Olsen; Lene Schack-Nielsen; Jenny Bua; Thorkild I A Sørensen
Related Documents :
1772264 - The effects of high parity and socioeconomic status on obstetric and neonatal outcome.
19429574 - The association of birth weight with arterial stiffness at mid-adulthood: the bogalusa ...
9030044 - Triplet births: trends and outcomes, 1971-94.
12505884 - Neighborhood support and the birth weight of urban infants.
15941824 - Impaired parasympathetic response to feeding in ventilated preterm babies.
3703824 - Neural tube defects in trisomy 18.
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Obesity research     Volume:  13     ISSN:  1071-7323     ISO Abbreviation:  Obes. Res.     Publication Date:  2005 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2006-01-19     Completed Date:  2007-04-16     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9305691     Medline TA:  Obes Res     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  2187-94     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Danish Epidemiology Science Centre, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Kommunehospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Birth Weight*
Body Mass Index
Child
Cohort Studies
Denmark / epidemiology
Female
Humans
Male
Obesity / epidemiology*,  etiology
Overweight / physiology*
Risk Factors

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Trends in height and BMI of 6-year-old children during the nutrition transition in Chile.
Next Document:  Tanner staging of secondary sexual characteristics and body composition, blood pressure, and insulin...