title: Fetal and infant growth and the risk of obesity during early childhood: the Generation R Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether infant growth rates are influenced by fetal growth characteristics and are associated with the risks of overweight and obesity in early childhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life onward.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fetal growth characteristics (femur length (FL) and estimated fetal weight (EFW)) were assessed in the second and third trimesters and at birth (length and weight). Infant peak weight velocity (PWV), peak height velocity (PHV), and body mass index at adiposity peak (BMIAP) were derived for 6267 infants with multiple height and weight measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EFW measured during the second trimester was positively associated with PWV and BMIAP during infancy. Subjects with a smaller weight gain between the third trimester and birth had a higher PWV. FL measured during the second trimester was positively associated with PHV. Gradual length gain between the second and third trimesters and between the third trimester and birth were associated with higher PHV. Compared with infants in the lowest quintile, the infants in the highest quintile of PWV had strongly increased risks of overweight/obesity at the age of 4 years (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 15.01 (9.63, 23.38)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fetal growth characteristics strongly influence infant growth rates. A higher PWV, which generally occurs in the first month after birth, was associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity at 4 years of age. Longer follow-up studies are necessary to determine how fetal and infant growth patterns affect the risk of disease in later life.
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group (AE-006), Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dennis O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Mook-Kanamori
authors.forename: Büşra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Durmuş
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sovio
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Raat
authors.forename: Eric A P
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Steegers
authors.forename: Marjo-Riitta
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Jarvelin
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012306:Risk; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People