Effect of growth in infancy on body composition, insulin resistance, and concentration of appetite hormones in adolescence.
BACKGROUND
High infancy weight gain is associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and insulin resistance (IR) in later life, but the association with later body composition has not been well explored. Appetite regulatory hormones may be programmed in early life, but data to support this are lacking.


OBJECTIVE
We investigated the effect of weight gain in infancy on body composition, IR, leptin, ghrelin, and adiponectin at 17 y of age.


METHODS
This was an observational study of 95 term and appropriate-for-gestational-age infants. We measured weight at birth and 9 mo of age and, for a subgroup (n = 60), at 3 and 6 mo of age. Changes in weight SD scores from 0 to 9, 0 to 3, 3 to 6, and 6 to 9 mo of age were calculated. Follow-up examinations at 10 and 17 y of age included body fat (BF) assessment by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scanning. We measured serum leptin, ghrelin adiponectin, and IR at 17 y of age.


RESULTS
Weight gain from 0 to 9 mo of age was positively associated with BMI (P < 0.003), percentage BF (P < 0.05), and percentage trunk fat (TF) (P < 0.03) but not with percentage TF relative to total BF, in childhood and adolescence, and most of these effects were explained by growth from 0 to 3 mo of age. Weight gains from 0 to 9 and 0 to 3 mo of age were not related to IR or leptin but were negatively associated with ghrelin and adiponectin corrected for BF at 17 y of age.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that high weight gain in infancy, especially from 0 to 3 mo of age, has a role in programming both BF and concentrations of ghrelin and adiponectin in adolescence, whereas there was no effect on IR or leptin in this study.
Larnkjaer
Anni
A
Department of Human Nutrition, Centre for Advanced Food Studies, Frederiksberg C, Denmark. ala@life.ku.dk <ala@life.ku.dk>
Schack-Nielsen
Lene
L
Mølgaard
Christian
C
Ingstrup
Helga K
HK
Holst
Jens J
JJ
Michaelsen
Kim F
KF
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D052242:Adiponectin / Q000097:blood; D000293:Adolescent; D001066:Appetite / Q000502:physiology*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*
D052242:Adiponectin; D054439:Ghrelin; D020738:Leptin; D036361:Peptide Hormones