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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Oct;17(10):e12928.
doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12928. Epub 2022 May 5.

Determinants of rapid infant weight gain: A pooled analysis of seven cohorts

Miaobing Zheng  1 , Kylie D Hesketh  1 , Peter Vuillermin  2 , Jodie Dodd  3 , Li Ming Wen  4 , Louise A Baur  4 , Rachael Taylor  5 , Rebecca Byrne  6 , Seema Mihrshahi  7 , Peter D Sly  8 , Mimi L K Tang  9 , Karen J Campbell  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Determinants of rapid infant weight gain: A pooled analysis of seven cohorts

Miaobing Zheng et al. Pediatr Obes. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: Rapid weight gain (RWG) in infancy is strongly associated with subsequent obesity risk, but little is known about the factors driving RWG. This study explored the child and maternal factors associated with infant RWG.

Methods: Data from seven Australian and New Zealand cohorts were used (n = 4542). Infant RWG was defined as a change in weight z-score ≥0.67 from birth to age 1 year. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression assessed the association between child and maternal factors and infant RWG in each cohort. Meta-analysis was conducted to obtain pooled effect sizes.

Results: Multivariable analyses revealed boys were more likely to experience RWG (OR 1.42 95% CI 1.22, 1.66) than girls. Higher birth weight in kg (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.04, 0.20) and gestational age in weeks (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.48, 0.98) were associated with lower RWG risk. Children who were breastfed for ≥6 months showed lower RWG risk (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.38, 0.53). Children of native-born versus overseas-born women appeared to have higher RWG risk (OR 1.37, 95% CI 0.99, 1.90). Maternal smoking during pregnancy increased RWG risk (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.28, 2.01), whereas children who started solids ≥6 months (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.63, 0.93) and children with siblings (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.57, 0.81) showed lower RWG risk in univariable analysis, but these associations were attenuated in multivariable analysis. No association was found for maternal age, education, marital status and pre-pregnancy BMI.

Conclusion: Maternal country of birth, smoking status, child sex, birth weight, gestational age, infant feeding and parity were potential determinants of infant RWG.

Keywords: birth weight; determinants; infant; infant feeding; pooled analysis; rapid weight gain.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Cohort‐specific and pooled odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of association between maternal and child factors (maternal country of birth, smoking status, child sex and birth weight) and risk of rapid weight gain during infancy. Estimates were obtained from the univariable model without adjustment for covariate. The overall pooled odds ratio was obtained from either fixed or random‐effects meta‐analysis
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Cohort‐specific and pooled odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of association between child factors (breastfeeding duration, timing of solid introduction, parity and gestational age) and risk of rapid weight gain during infancy. Estimates were obtained from the univariable model without adjustment for covariate. The overall pooled odds ratio was obtained from either fixed or random‐effects meta‐analysis
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