Correlation of month and season of birth with height, weight and degree of obesity of rural Japanese children

Abstract

Month and season of birth are thought to influence height, weight and degree of obesity in schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study was designed to measure the height and weight of all children aged 6-15 years attending primary and junior high schools in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Data were standardized (z-scores) and analysed separately by gender and age. The mean z-score for height and weight were the highest in subjects born during the months of spring and the lowest in those born during the months of winter (p < 0.0001), whereas the means were significantly higher in children born during the months of summer than in those born during the months of autumn (p < 0.0001). A gradually decreasing trend of height and weight was observed in children of both genders born between May and Mar (from spring to winter). There was no significant difference in degree of obesity among the four seasons of birth for boys and girls. The highest prevalence of obese boys have born during spring (among 6-year-old boys) and summer (among 7-year-old boys), whereas the highest prevalence of obese girls have born during spring (among 6-year-old girls) and winter (among 10-year-old girls). Our findings suggest that month and season of birth influence height and weight of schoolchildren in Tokushima but not their degree of obesity.

Season of birth influences the timing of first menstruation

“…Data published in literature on the subject also demonstrate that the month of birth is a significant determinant of an individual's further development (Phillips and Young, 2000;Tanaka et al, 2007;Wattie et al, 2008;Weber et al, 1998). Results of adverse conditions in the fetal period are noticeable even many years after birth.…”

“…Significant differences have been reported across various months or seasons of birth in terms of stature (Tanaka et al, 2007;Weber et al, 1998), body mass (Tanaka et al, 2007;Wattie et al, 2008), BMI (Phillips and Young, 2000;Tanaka et al, 2007;Wattie et al, 2008) as well as susceptibility to diseases (Mainio et al, 2006;Procopio et al, 2006). Birth month is related to the prevalence of obesity (Phillips and Young, 2000;Tanaka et al, 2007), mental health problems (Joiner et al, 2002), diabetes (Fichera et al, 2001), eating disorders (Eagles et al, 2001), breast cancer (Kristoffersen and Hartveit, 2000), allergies (Kusunoki et al, 1999), and premature mortality (Doblhammer and Vaupel, 2001).…”

“…Birth month is related to the prevalence of obesity (Phillips and Young, 2000;Tanaka et al, 2007), mental health problems (Joiner et al, 2002), diabetes (Fichera et al, 2001), eating disorders (Eagles et al, 2001), breast cancer (Kristoffersen and Hartveit, 2000), allergies (Kusunoki et al, 1999), and premature mortality (Doblhammer and Vaupel, 2001). Epidemiological studies revealed that the month of birth may also affect life expectancy (Doblhammer and Vaupel, 2001;Lerchl, 2004) and parameters related to reproduction, such as mean offspring count (Huber and Fieder, 2007;Lummaa and Tremblay, 2003;Smits et al, 1997) or age at menopause (Cagnacci et al, 2005).…”

Season of Birth Is Associated With Adult Body Mass Index in Patients With Bipolar Disorder

“…Season of birth effects on growth patterns have been documented in children and adolescents (Tanaka et al, 2007); however, the effects in adult individuals are small and often confounded or overruled by other intervening lifestyle factors (Frye & Heinrich, 2003; Wattie et al, 2008). The season of birth pattern that has been most commonly described is higher rates of obesity in individuals born in winter-spring (Levitan et al, 2006; Tanaka et al, 2007); however, different patterns in different age cohorts have also been described (Wattie et al, 2008) and some studies have also failed to detect a season of birth effect on BMI (Hackett et al, 2009). Moreover, none of the studies exploring effects of season of birth on adult BMI have controlled for the presence of psychiatric disorders that have been shown to be associated with birth seasonality.…”

“…A small effect of season of birth on adult BMI has been described in the general population (Hillman & Conway, 1972; Tanaka et al, 2007; Wattie et al, 2008), but none of these studies has controlled for the presence of severe mood disorders in the sample.…”