Weight catch-up and achieved schooling at 18 years of age in Brazilian males

Abstract

Objective: To assess the relationship between weight catch-up in infancy and achieved schooling at 18 years of age in Brazilian males. Subjects: All newborn infants in the city's hospitals were enrolled in 1982; 78.8% (2250) of all male participants were located at age 18 years when enrolling in the national army. Results: According to the Brazilian school calendar, 18-year-olds should be attending the 11th grade, but school failure was very common and 78.5% of all subjects had failed at least once. The average achieved schooling was 7.7 years (s.d. ¼ 2.3). After controlling for possible confounding variables, birthweight was positively associated with achieved schooling. With respect to postnatal growth, weight gain in the first 20 months was associated with increased schooling. Among SGA infants who caughtup in weight, achieved schooling was 1.3 higher. Data from a cross-sectional survey in the same population suggest that such a difference corresponds to a 25% difference in adult income levels. Conclusion: The study showed that early weight catch-up is associated with achieved schooling. The beneficial effects of early weight gain should be balanced against its potential harms.

Weight Gain in the First Two Years of Life Is an Important Predictor of Schooling Outcomes in Pooled Analyses from Five Birth Cohorts from Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Other than an analysis of attained schooling in Pelotas (17), we are not aware of other work addressing the topic. We found that weight gain from 0 to 24 mo had the strongest relationships with schooling outcomes followed by birthweight; weight gain from 24 to 48 mo had a weak or no relationship to schooling outcomes.…”

“…Studies have focused on cognitive development or achievement tests (12–16) and few have dealt with schooling outcomes (17). Studies are particularly needed from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where the importance of establishing these relationships for policies and programs is greater due to high rates of growth failure and low schooling.…”

Nutritional status of indigenous children: findings from the First National Survey of Indigenous People’s Health and Nutrition in Brazil

“…On the other hand, it has also been suggested that rapid weight gain in the first years of life may reverse the long-term consequences of intrauterine growth restriction. For example, among Brazilian infants born small for gestational age (a proxy of intrauterine growth restriction), rapid weight gain in the first two years of life is related to higher achieved schooling in early adulthood [30] and higher birthweight in the next generation [31]. Therefore, promotion of weight gain in the first years of life may have positive long-term and intergenerational consequences [32,33].…”

Effect of Breastfeeding on Head Circumference of Children from Impoverished Communities

“…According to the 2012 Save the Children Report, children whose physical and mental development are stunted by undernutrition will earn less on average as adults, and this represents a loss of human potential associated with a wage reduction of around 20%. 21 Furthermore, evidence suggests that promotion of growth among children under 2 years of age has long-term consequences on human capital, [22][23][24] whereas it does not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. 25 This study was conducted in a population that survives in great environmental and socioeconomic precariousness, but that is in the process of nutritional transition.…”

“…These findings are important because evidence suggests that larger HC should lead to better long-term outcomes. 9,17,[21][22][23][24][25] These aspects can and should be used as additional argument to persuade mothers to breastfeed their children for > 4 months.…”