Infant weight gain and childhood overweight status in a multicenter, cohort study.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether a rapid rate of weight gain in early infancy is associated with overweight status in childhood.


METHODS
Prospective, cohort study from birth to age 7 years.


METHODS
Twelve sites across the United States.


METHODS
Twenty-seven thousand, eight hundred ninety-nine (27 899) eligible participants born at full term between 1959 and 1965.


METHODS
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.


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).


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.
Stettler
Nicolas
N
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4399, USA. nstettle@cceb.med.upenn.edu
Zemel
Babette S
BS
Kumanyika
Shiriki
S
Stallings
Virginia A
VA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*