Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Apr;123(4):1177-83.
doi: 10.1542/peds.2008-1149.

Weight status in the first 6 months of life and obesity at 3 years of age

Elsie M Taveras  1 , Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman, Mandy B Belfort, Ken P Kleinman, Emily Oken, Matthew W Gillman
Affiliations

Weight status in the first 6 months of life and obesity at 3 years of age

Elsie M Taveras et al. Pediatrics. 2009 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: The goal was to examine the associations of weight-for-length at birth and at 6 months with obesity at 3 years of age.

Methods: We studied 559 children in Project Viva, an ongoing, prospective, cohort study of pregnant women and their children. We measured length and weight at birth, 6 months, and 3 years. Our main exposures were weight-for-length z score at birth adjusted for gestational age and weight-for-length z score at 6 months adjusted for weight-for-length z score at birth. We used multivariate regression analyses to predict the independent effects of birth weight-for-length z score and, separately, 6-month weight-for-length z score on BMI z score, the sum of subscapular and triceps skinfold thicknesses, and obesity (BMI for age and gender of > or =95th percentile) at age 3.

Results: Mean weights at birth, 6 months, and 3 years were 3.55, 8.15, and 15.67 kg, respectively. Corresponding lengths were 49.9, 66.9, and 97.4 cm. At 3 years, 48 children (9%) were obese. After adjustment for confounding variables and birth weight-for-length z score, each increment in 6-month weight-for-length z score was associated with higher BMI z scores, higher sums of subscapular and triceps skinfold thicknesses, and increased odds of obesity at age 3. The predicted obesity prevalence among children in the highest quartiles of both birth and 6-month weight-for-length z scores was 40%, compared with 1% for children in the lowest quartiles of both. Whereas birth weight-for-length z scores were associated with higher BMI z scores, the magnitude of effect was smaller than that of weight-for-length z scores at 6 months.

Conclusions: More-rapid increases in weight for length in the first 6 months of life were associated with sharply increased risk of obesity at 3 years of age. Changes in weight status in infancy may influence risk of later obesity more than weight status at birth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Predicted probability of obesity (BMI of ≥95th percentile) at 3 years of age according to quartile of WFL z score at birth and at 6 months of age, with adjustment for maternal smoking status, gestational weight gain, education, household income, parity, age, and prepregnancy BMI, paternal BMI, and child age, gender, and race/ethnicity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, McDowell MA, Tabak CJ, Flegal KM. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999–2004. JAMA. 2006;295(13):1549–1555. - PubMed
    1. Ogden CL, Troiano RP, Briefel RR, Kuczmarski RJ, Flegal KM, Johnson CL. Prevalence of overweight among preschool children in the United States, 1971 through 1994. Pediatrics. 1997;99(4) Available at www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/99/4/e1. - PubMed
    1. Stettler N, Zemel BS, Kumanyika SK, Stallings VA. Infant weight gain and childhood overweight status in a multicenter, cohort study. Pediatrics. 2002;109(2):194–199. - PubMed
    1. Stettler N, Kumanyika SK, Katz SH, Zemel BS, Stallings VA. Rapid weight gain during infancy and obesity in young adult-hood in a cohort of African Americans. Am J Clin Nutr. 2003;77(6):1374–1378. - PubMed
    1. Eid EE. Follow-up study of physical growth of children who had excessive weight gain in first six months of life. Br Med J. 1970;2(5701):74–76. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types