[Relationship of childhood obesity to adult obesity: a 20-year longitudinal study from birth in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan].
OBJECTIVE
Evidence regarding the relationship between childhood obesity and adult obesity in Japan is limited. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between childhood mass index (BMI) at 3 months, 12 months, 3 years and 20 years in a general population.


METHODS
Data obtained from men and women aged 20 years (born between 1968-1974), who had received medical examinations in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, were linked to data of medical examinations of the same individuals as infants (3 months, 12 months, and 3 years). The relationship between childhood BMI (or Kaup index) and adult BMI was analyzed for a total of 2,314 participants (1,080 men and 1,234 women), whose data could be followed for 20 years.


RESULTS
BMI at 20 years displayed significant positive correlations with BMI at 3 months, 12 months, and 3 years; this correlation was strongest with respect to BMI at 3 years (r = 0.33, p < 0.001 in men; r = 0.42, p < 0.001 in women). In terms of percentages of obese participants (BMI 25 kg/m2 or over) at 20 years in accordance with BMI categories at each age, the rates were 4.6% in men and 1.0% in women with a BMI less than 15 kg/m2 at 3 years, but 29.1% and 29.5%, respectively, with a BMI of 18 kg/m2 or over (6.3 and 29.5 times higher, respectively). Percentages of obese participants at 20 years were highest in those exhibiting an above average BMI at 3 years, regardless of the BMI at 3 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Body mass in young adults is strongly related to body mass in childhood, especially with that at 3 years. About 30 percent of obese children at 3 years remain obese into adulthood. These results are of interest with respect to assessment of future risk of adulthood obesity at medical examinations for infants in Japan.
Tsukada
Hisae
H
Minami-Kaga Public Health Center, Ishikawa Prefectural Government.
Miura
Katsuyuki
K
Kido
Teruhiko
T
Saeki
Kazuko
K
Kawashima
Hiroko
H
Ikawa
Akemi
A
Nishi
Masami
M
Morikawa
Yuko
Y
Nishijo
Muneko
M
Nakanishi
Yumiko
Y
Yoshita
Katsushi
K
Nakagnawa
Hideaki
H
D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007564:Japan; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity