Do early life factors influence body mass index in adolescents?

Abstract

The association between early life factors and body mass index (BMI) in adulthood has been demonstrated in developed countries. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of early life factors (birth weight, gestational age, maternal smoking, and social class) on BMI in young adulthood with adjustment for adult socioeconomic position. A cohort study was carried out in 1978/79 with 6827 motherchild pairs from Ribeirão Preto city, located in the most developed economic area of the country. Biological, economic and social variables and newborn anthropometric measurements were obtained shortly after delivery. In 1996, 1189 males from this cohort, 34.3% of the original male population, were submitted to anthropometric measurements and were asked about their current schooling on the occasion of army recruitment. A multiple linear regression model was applied to determine variables associated with BMI. Mean BMI was 22.7 (95%CI = 22.5-23.0). After adjustment, BMI was 1.22 kg/m 2 higher among infants born with high birth weight (≥4000 g), 1.21 kg/m 2 higher among individuals of low social class at birth and 0.69 kg/m 2 higher among individuals whose mothers smoked during pregnancy (P < 0.05). The association between social class at birth and BMI remained statistically significant (P < 0.05) even after adjustment for adult schooling. These findings suggest that early life social influences on BMI were more important and were not reversed by late socioeconomic position. Therefore, prevention of overweight and obesity should focus not only on changes in adult life styles but also on factors such as high birth weight.

Association of birth weight with body mass index of school children of central India: a cross sectional study

“…Similar findings were postulated by Goldani et al, Gillman et al and Strufaldi et al 6,19,20 A systemic review and metanalysis done by Yu et al also substantiated the fact that high birth weight is associated with higher risk of overweight/obesity in later life. 21 Similar findings were also postulated by Schellong et al in their study.…”

Childhood poverty and abdominal obesity in adulthood: a systematic review

“…Brazilian studies found a direct association between childhood socioeconomic status and BMI in late adolescence and early adulthood in men 24,25 , and an inverse association in women 44 . Thus, although the results of cross-sectional studies are subject to reverse causality -whereby obesity can determine current socioeconomic status rather than vice-versa 4,6,8,28,30 -, the transition process described above is consistent with our finding of clearer associations in women than in men for the effects of early poverty.…”

“…Nearly all studies on the association between socioeconomic status and obesity in adults have a cross-sectional design, in which both variables are measured simultaneously 4,6,8,23 . By reviewing the literature, we found 40 studies evaluating the relationship between childhood socioeconomic status and obesity in adulthood, of which only three were conducted in medium or low-income countries: two in Brazil 24,25 and one in China 26 . There are even fewer articles specifically evaluating the association between socioeconomic status and abdominal obesity.…”

Perinatal and early adulthood factors associated with adiposity

“…Goldani et al 42 demonstrated an association between lower levels of maternal schooling at childbirth (< 8 years) and higher BMI among males aged 18 years. These results were not replicated by the present study, since lower levels of maternal schooling during childhood (< 8 years) was associated with greater BMI and WC in adulthood among women but not among men.…”