 |
|
Crossing Growth Percentiles in Infancy and Risk of Obesity in Childhood
Elsie M. Taveras, MD, MPH;
Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman, MPH;
Bettylou Sherry, PhD, RD;
Emily Oken, MD, MPH;
Jess Haines, PhD, MHSc, RD;
Ken Kleinman, ScD;
Janet W. Rich-Edwards, ScD;
Matthew W. Gillman, MD, SM
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2011;165(11):993-998. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.167
Objective To examine the associations of upward crossing of major percentiles in weight-for-length in the first 24 months of life with the prevalence of obesity at ages 5 and 10 years.
Design Longitudinal study.
Setting Multisite clinical practice.
Participants We included 44 622 children aged from 1 month to less than 11 years with 122 214 length/height and weight measurements from January 1, 1980, through December 31, 2008.
Main Exposure The number of major weight-for-length percentiles crossed during each of four 6-month intervals, that is, 1 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, and 18 to 24 months.
Main Outcome Measures Odds and observed prevalence of obesity (body mass index [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared]  95th percentile) at ages 5 and 10 years.
Results Crossing upwards 2 or more weight-for-length percentiles was common in the first 6 months of life (43%) and less common during later age intervals. Crossing upwards 2 or more weight-for-length percentiles in the first 24 months was associated with elevated odds of obesity at ages 5 years (odds ratio, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.84-2.34) and 10 years (1.75; 1.53-2.00) compared with crossing less than 2 major percentiles. Obesity prevalence at ages 5 and 10 was highest among children who crossed upwards 2 or more weight-for-length percentiles in the first 6 months of life.
Conclusions Crossing upwards 2 or more major weight-for-length percentiles in the first 24 months of life is associated with later obesity. Upward crossing of 2 weight-for-length percentiles in the first 6 months is associated with the highest prevalence of obesity 5 and 10 years later. Efforts to curb excess weight gain in infancy may be useful in preventing later obesity.
Author Affiliations: Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute (Drs Taveras, Oken, Kleinman, and Gillman, and Ms Rifas-Shiman), and Division of General Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston (Dr Taveras), Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Dr Sherry); Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario (Dr Haines); Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital (Dr Rich-Edwards), and Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health (Dr Gillman), Boston, Massachusetts.
 CiteULike  Connotea  Delicious  Digg  Facebook  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLE
Early Identification of Children at Risk of Developing Obesity
Edward A. Frongillo and Michelle Lampl
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2011;165(11):1043-1044.
EXTRACT
| FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Childhood Obesity Risk in Infants Who Cross Growth Percentiles
Schiff
AAP Grand Rounds 2012;27:20-20.
FULL TEXT
Using Infant Growth Charts to Predict Later Obesity
JWatch Pediatrics 2012;2012:4-4.
FULL TEXT
Early Identification of Children at Risk of Developing Obesity
Frongillo and Lampl
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2011;165:1043-1044.
FULL TEXT
|
