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. 2005 Sep;29(9):1055-62.
doi: 10.1038/sj.ijo.0802998.

Weight history from birth through childhood and youth in relation to adult lung function, in Danish juvenile obese and non-obese men

J Bua  1 , E Prescott, L Schack-Nielsen, L Petersen, N S Godtfredsen, T I A Sørensen, M Osler
Affiliations

Weight history from birth through childhood and youth in relation to adult lung function, in Danish juvenile obese and non-obese men

J Bua et al. Int J Obes (Lond). 2005 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the associations of birth weight, body mass index (BMI) during childhood and youth, and current BMI with adult lung function.

Design: Population-based longitudinal study of juvenile obese and non-obese men, who were identified at draft board examination (age range: 19-27 y) and who participated in a follow-up examination in 1981-1983 (age range: 25-48 y). Birth weight, childhood weight and height measurements from 7 to 13 y of age were obtained from school health records. Current BMI and lung function were assessed at follow-up.

Setting: Copenhagen and adjacent regions, Denmark.

Subjects: In total, 193 juvenile obese men at draft board examination and 205 randomly selected nonobese controls from the same population.

Main outcome measures: Lung function measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) and forced vital capacity (FVC), adjusted for age and height.

Results: After adjusting for current BMI, smoking and education, birth weight was positively related to FEV(1), although only with borderline statistical significance. BMI at age 7 y was positively associated with both FEV(1) and FVC, whereas BMI at later ages in childhood and in youth was not associated with these measures. There was a strong negative linear relation between current BMI and lung function among those currently overweight and obese (BMI 25 kg/m(2)), whereas no association was seen in the non-obese (BMI <25 kg/m(2)).

Conclusion: Our findings confirm the detrimental effect of high current BMI on adult lung function, and further suggest that early childhood growth has a protective influence.

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