2134/28104
Kimberly Lucas
Kimberly
Lucas
Philip James
Philip
James
Audrey C. Choh
Audrey C.
Choh
Miryoung Lee
Miryoung
Lee
Stefan A. Czerwinski
Stefan A.
Czerwinski
Ellen W. Demerath
Ellen W.
Demerath
Will Johnson
Will
Johnson
The positive association of infant weight gain with adulthood body mass index has strengthened over time in the Fels Longitudinal Study
Loughborough University
2018
Infant weight gain
Adulthood body mass index
Adulthood blood pressure
Secular trend
Birth cohort study
Obesity epidemic
Medical and Health Sciences not elsewhere classified
2018-01-16 10:00:07
Journal contribution
https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/The_positive_association_of_infant_weight_gain_with_adulthood_body_mass_index_has_strengthened_over_time_in_the_Fels_Longitudinal_Study/9630308
Background
Infant weight gain is positively related to adulthood body mass index (BMI), but it is unknown whether or not this association is stronger for individuals born during (compared to before) the obesity epidemic.
Objectives
To examine how the infant weight gain–adulthood BMI association might have changed across successive birth year cohorts spanning most of the 20th century.
Methods
The sample comprised 346 participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study. Confounder-adjusted regression models were used to test the associations of conditional weight-for-length Z-score (WLZ), capturing weight change between ages 0-2 years, with young adulthood BMI and blood pressure, including cohort (1933-1949 (N=137), 1950-1969 (N=108), 1970-1997 (N=101)) as an effect modifier.
Results
Conditional WLZ was positively related to adulthood BMI, but there was significant effect modification by birth year cohort such that the association was over two times stronger in the 1970-1997 cohort (β 2.31; 95% confidence interval 1.59, 3.03) compared to the 1933-1949 (0.98; 0.31, 1.65) and 1950-1969 (0.87; 0.21, 1.54) cohorts. A similar pattern was found for systolic blood pressure.
Conclusions
The infant weight gain–adulthood BMI association was over two times stronger among a cohort born during the obesity epidemic era compared to cohorts born earlier in the 20th century.