Adolescent body composition and associations with body size and growth from birth to late adolescence. The Tromsø study: Fit Futures—A Norwegian longitudinal cohort study

Abstract

Summary Background Fat and fat‐free masses and fat distribution are related to cardiometabolic risk. Objectives: to explore how birth weight, childhood body mass index (BMI) and BMI gain were related to adolescent body composition and central obesity. Methods In a population‐based longitudinal study, body composition was measured by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry in 907 Norwegian adolescents (48% girls). Associations between birth weight, BMI categories, and BMI gain were evaluated by fitting linear mixed models and conditional growth models with fat mass index (FMI, kg/m2), fat‐free mass index (FFMI, kg/m2) standard deviation scores (SDS), and central obesity at 15 to 20 years, as well as change in FMI SDS and FFMI SDS between ages 15 to 17 and 18 to 20 as outcomes. Results Birth weight was associated with FFMI in adolescence. Greater BMI gain in childhood, conditioned on prior body size, was associated with higher FMI, FFMI, and central overweight/obesity with the strongest associations seen at age 6 to 16.5 years: FMI SDS: β = 0.67, 95% CI (0.63‐0.71), FFMI SDS: 0.46 (0.39, 0.52), in girls, FMI SDS: 0.80 (0.75, 0.86), FFMI SDS: 0.49 (0.43, 0.55), in boys. Conclusions Compared with birth and early childhood, high BMI and greater BMI gain at later ages are strong predictors of higher fat mass and central overweight/obesity at 15 to 20 years of age.

Identification of and Associations among Low, Middle, and High Body Composition Trajectories from Age 5- to 17-Years

“…Agreement between cluster assignments (i.e., low, middle, or high) using AGE5 or ALL data was good for BMI and each body composition measure, suggesting that one’s BMI and relative distribution of % BF, FMI, and FFMI are established during early childhood and remain stable throughout adolescence. These data are consistent with observations that children having high BMIs during childhood are at increased risk of obesity during adolescence and adulthood [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Simmonds et al conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses to investigate the persistence of obesity from childhood into adulthood, and reported a strong positive association between a high childhood BMI and adult obesity [ 20 ].…”

“…Using growth data from German children recorded in the CrescNet patient registry, Geserick et al found that preschool children with high acceleration in annual BMI increments were 1.4 times as likely to be overweight or obese during adolescence as their peers with stable preschool BMIs [ 22 ]. Evensen et al reported that high BMIs during early childhood predicted higher fat mass during late adolescence [ 23 ]. These findings extend previous BMI findings by documenting that % BF, FMI, and LMI also track within individuals throughout childhood and adolescence.…”

A systematic review indicates an association between birth weight and body fat in childhood

“…Furthermore, after adjusting for body fat, trunk fat was lower in children born LGA 15 . Born LGA showed no association with central overweight/obesity, 21 whereas LGA‐born children were at a lower risk of metabolic syndrome 16 . A significant association of increased body fat accumulation and infant peak weight velocity was found, but that was evident in both LGA and non‐LGA infants 27,40 .…”

“…The studies were published between 1993 and 2019, with a total of 39 501 participants. Eight studies had sample sizes greater than 500, 18–21,23,26,27,30,40 and 11 studies had sample sizes smaller than 100 participants 17,19,24,25,28,29,37,39,42–44 . Six studies used population sample from Spain, 14,19,24,25,34,43 five from the USA, 17,18,31,39,42 three studies each from Italy, 16,22,35 France 15,28,38 and the Netherlands, 23,27,40 two studies each from Sweden 29,32 and Turkey, 41,44 one study each from Australia, 20 Belarus, 26 Chile, 37 Denmark, 30 Finland, 33 Germany 36 and Norway 21 …”

“…Evidence based on studies that evaluated the body fat at 12 or 18–22 months of age suggested that SGA infants had a similar or even lower fat mass in comparison with non‐SGA infants 19,39 . A series of studies in Northern Europe and Scandinavian countries could not demonstrate any significant association between being born SGA and developing increased fat mass percentage, central obesity or overweight 21,26,30,32,33 . However, a biased selection of families with a greater socioeconomic status reflecting a decline in the prevalence of overweight could not be excluded.…”