Prevalence and risk factors for overweight and obesity in children from Seychelles, a country in rapid transition: the importance of early growth

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:To establish the prevalence of overweight and obesity and related risk factors in children from Seychelles (Indian Ocean), a country in rapid economic and epidemiological transition. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with retrospective access to early life data. SUBJECTS: All children from all schools of Seychelles, in four selected school grades (kindergarten, fourth, seventh and tenth year of obligatory school) in 1999. A total of 5514 children aged 4.5 -17.4 y were measured, corresponding to 83.5% of the eligible population. MEASUREMENTS: Overweight and obesity, using age-and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points as defined by the International Obesity Task Force. RESULTS: Some 12.6% (95% confidence interval: 11.8 -13.5%) of the children were overweight and 3.8% (3.3 -4.4%) were obese. Weight gain (kg) during the first year of life was strongly associated with subsequent overweight (odds ratio 1.46, 95% confidence interval 1.27 -1.67) and obesity (1.59, 1.29 -1.97) in childhood, independently of birth weight. Increased maternal BMI (kg=m 2 ) was also associated with overweight (1.07, 1.03 -1.10) and obesity (1.09, 1.04 -1.14) in the offspring. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of overweight and obesity among school children in Seychelles was as high as or higher than in some industrialized countries. If confirmed in other environments, the strong association between weight gain during the first year of life and subsequent obesity in childhood could affect the way optimal infant weight gain is defined in countries where public health priorities are changing.

Relationship between prenatal growth, postnatal growth and childhood obesity: a review

“…[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] The mean total score was 8.7 out of a maximum score of 9 (range 7-9), indicating that, overall, the methodological quality was high. All 18 studies were awarded the highest possible score (2 stars) for the Comparability category, and 16 out of 18 studies were awarded the highest possible score (3 stars) for the Outcome category, with 2 studies receiving no stars for adequacy of follow-up.…”

“…These measures were collected between the ages of 6 months 39 and 20 years, 32 with three studies at ages 1-5 years; seven studies at 6-12 years; four studies at 13-19 years; and three studies across age groups. 31,41,45 Summary of findings Independent associations between prenatal growth, postnatal growth and obesity. Ten studies eligible for this review assessed the relation between prenatal and postnatal growth (see Appendix Table A1), and nine of these found that children and adolescents born lighter were more likely to experience rapid growth in early life than children and adolescents born heavier; one study examining birthweight adjusted for length found that heavier newborns tended to have larger changes in weight for length between birth and 6 months.…”

Maternal deprivation and overnutrition in early postnatal life and their primary prevention: Historical reminiscence of an “ecologic experiment” in Germany

“…In large multi-centre cohort studies with data from tens of thousands of children, especially Stettler and co-workers clearly demonstrated a close relationship -even independently of birth weight -between the extent of weight gain during the fi rst four months of life and later obesity risk (Stettler, Bovet et al 2002, Stettler et al 2003, 2005.…”

Velocidade de ganho de peso nos primeiros anos de vida e excesso de peso entre 5-11 anos de idade, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil

“…Estudos recentes têm mostrado evidências que indicam que este pode ser um problema também em populações urbanas pobres, visto que o ganho de peso rápido até os dois primeiros anos de vida foi associado ao sobrepeso/obesidade em pré-escolares e escolares de baixa renda 14,15 e também em adolescentes brasileiros 6 .…”