Higher BMI during childhood is associated with an increased risk of CHD in adulthood. The associations are stronger in boys than in girls and increase with the age of the child in both sexes. Our findings suggest that as children are becoming heavier worldwide, greater numbers of them are at risk of having CHD in adulthood.

Heavier women may benefit from avoiding high and very high GWG, which brings only a slight increase in the risk of growth restriction for the infant. High weight gain in underweight women does not appear to have deleterious consequences for them or their infants, but they may want to avoid low GWG to prevent having a small baby.

The purpose was to investigate a possible levelling off in the obesity epidemic, by systematically reviewing literature and web-based sources. Eligible studies and data sources were required to have at least two measures of obesity prevalence since 1999. A literature and Internet search resulted in 52 studies from 25 different countries. The findings supported an overall levelling off of the epidemic in children and adolescents from Australia, Europe, Japan and the USA. In adults, stability was found in the USA, while increases were still observed in some European and Asian countries. Some evidence for heterogeneity in the obesity trends across socioeconomic status (SES) groups was found. The levelling off was less evident in the lower-SES groups. No obvious differences between genders were identified. We discussed potential explanations for a levelling off and the utility of investigating obesity trends to identify the driving forces behind the epidemic. It is important to emphasize that the levelling off is not tantamount to calling off the epidemic. Additionally, it is worthwhile to keep in mind that previous stable phases have been followed by further increases in the prevalence of obesity. Therefore, research into the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity should remain a priority.

These results show an inverse but moderate association of birthweight with adult mortality from all-causes and a stronger inverse association with cardiovascular mortality. For men, higher birthweight was strongly associated with increased risk of cancer deaths. The findings suggest that birthweight can be a useful indicator of processes that influence long-term health.

Infant weight gain is associated with maternal prepregnant BMI and with an interaction between the duration of breastfeeding and the timing of complementary food introduction. Future investigations of the effects of breastfeeding on infant weight gain should account for all of these factors.

Breastfeeding was associated with lower PPWR in all categories of prepregnancy BMI. These results suggest that, when combined with GWG values of approximately 12 kg, breastfeeding as recommended could eliminate weight retention by 6 mo postpartum in many women.

Background: An association between high prepregnant body mass index (BMI) and early termination of breastfeeding has been observed, but this finding may have depended on the sociocultural context. Objective: The objective was to determine whether this association was stronger with increasing maternal obesity, was modified by gestational weight gain, and still existed when there was greater social support for breastfeeding. Design: Study participants (37 459 women) were drawn from the Danish National Birth Cohort. The association of prepregnant BMI and gestational weight gain with the termination of full or any breastfeeding by 1, 16, or 20 wk postpartum was assessed with logistic regression analyses, and the risk of early termination of full and any breastfeeding during the first 18 mo postpartum was assessed with Poisson regression analyses. Results: The risk of early termination of any (with similar results for full) breastfeeding rose progressively with increasing prepregnant BMI values (in kg/m 2 ), from 1.12 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.16) for overweight (BMI ҃ 25.0 -29.9) women to 1.39 (95% CI: 1.19, 1.63) for obese class III women (BMI ͧ 40) compared with normal-BMI women. Gestational weight gain did not add to or modify the association between prepregnant BMI and breastfeeding. Conclusions: These findings extend the observation to a broader range of BMIs that the greater the prepregnant BMI, the earlier the termination of breastfeeding. Together with the fact that this association was evident in a more supportive social context for breastfeeding, these findings suggest a biological basis for the association.Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86:404 -11. KEY WORDSBreastfeeding, prepregnancy, body mass index, Danish women, obesity

Background Obesity in late adolescence has been associated with an increased risk of multiple sclerosis (MS); however, it is not known if body size in childhood is associated with MS risk. Methods Using a prospective design we examined whether body mass index (BMI) at ages 7-13 was associated with MS risk among 303,998 individuals in the Copenhagen School Health Records Register (CSHRR).. Linking the CSHRR with the Danish MS registry yielded 774 MS cases (501 girls, 273 boys). We used Cox proportional hazards models, to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals. Results Among girls, at each age 7-13, a 1-unit increase in BMI z-score was associated with an increased risk of MS (HRage 7=1.20, 95%CI: 1.10-1.30; HRage 13=1.18, 95%CI: 1.08-1.28). Girls who were ≥95th percentile for BMI had a 1.61-1.95-fold increased risk of MS as compared to girls <85th percentile. The associations were attenuated in boys. The pooled HR for a 1-unit increase in BMI z-score was at age 7 was 1.17, 95%CI: 1.09-1.26, and at age 13, 1.15, 95%CI: 1.07-1.24. Conclusion Having a high BMI in early life is a risk factor for MS, but the mechanisms underlying the association remain to be elucidated.