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
. 2023 Apr;18(4):e12999.
doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12999. Epub 2022 Dec 27.

Maternal BMI in the preconception period, and association with child zBMI growth rates

Arin C Deveci  1   2 , Charles D G Keown-Stoneman  3   4 , Jonathon L Maguire  1   3   4   5   6   7 , Deborah L O'Connor  1   8   9 , Laura N Anderson  2   10 , Cindy-Lee Dennis  3   11   12 , Catherine S Birken  1   2   4   5 ; TARGet Kids! Collaboration
Affiliations

Maternal BMI in the preconception period, and association with child zBMI growth rates

Arin C Deveci et al. Pediatr Obes. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Background: Elevated body mass index (BMI) and rapid growth in early childhood are important predictors of obesity risk. The association between maternal preconception BMI and child growth rates is unclear.

Objectives: To assess the association between measured maternal preconception BMI and child age- and sex- standardized WHO BMI z-score (zBMI) growth rates and mean zBMI, in children aged 0-10 years old.

Methods: A longitudinal cohort study was conducted with children (n = 499) enrolled in The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!) primary care practice-based research cohort. Maternal BMI was measured during the preconception period, defined as the 2 years prior to pregnancy. Repeated measures of child weight and height were obtained between 0 and 10 years of age. Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the association between maternal BMI and child zBMI growth rates and mean zBMI.

Results: Maternal preconception BMI was associated with child zBMI growth rate during some growth periods, with the strongest association from age 0 to 4 months; a 5 kg/m2 higher maternal BMI was associated with 0.031 zBMI SD unit/mo higher growth rate (p = 0.004), and 0.186 SD unit higher mean child zBMI (p = 0.0002).

Conclusions: Maternal preconception BMI was associated with growth rate and mean zBMI in early childhood. The preconception period may be an important target for health interventions to promote healthy child growth rate and weight outcomes.

Keywords: childhood growth; growth rate; growth trajectory; pre-pregnancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Di Cesare M, Sorić M, Bovet P, et al. The epidemiological burden of obesity in childhood: a worldwide epidemic requiring urgent action. BMC Med. 2019;17(1):1-20. doi:10.1186/s12916-019-1449-8
    1. Péneau S, Giudici KV, Gusto G, et al. Growth trajectories of body mass index during childhood: associated factors and health outcome at adulthood. J Pediatr. 2017;186:64-71.e1. doi:10.1016/J.JPEDS.2017.02.010
    1. Halilagic A, Moschonis G. The effect of growth rate during infancy on the risk of developing obesity in childhood: a systematic literature review. Nutrients. 2021;13(10):3449. doi:10.3390/NU13103449
    1. Min J, Li J, Li Z, Wang Y. Impacts of infancy rapid weight gain on 5-year childhood overweight development vary by age and sex in China. Pediatr Obes. 2012;7(5):365-373. doi:10.1111/J.2047-6310.2012.00074.X
    1. Blake-Lamb T, Locks LM, Perkins ME, Woo Baidal JA, Cheng ER, Taveras EM. Interventions for childhood obesity in the first 1,000 days. Am J Prev Med. 2016;50(6):780-789. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2015.11.010

Publication types

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources