Accelerated Growth in Early Life and Obesity in Preschool Chilean Children

Abstract

In Chile, childhood obesity rates are high. The purpose of this article is to compare BMI growth characteristics of normal (N), overweight (OW), and obese (OB) 5‐year olds from 0 to 5 years and explore the influence of some prenatal factors on these patterns of growth. The study was done on a retrospective cohort of 1,089 5‐year olds with birth weight >2,500 g. Weight and height were obtained from records at nine occasions (0–36 months); at 52 and 60 months, we measured them. At 60 months, children were classified as N, OW, and OB. At each age, BMI and z‐score of BMI (BMI Z) differences were compared among groups. The influence of birth weight, pre‐pregnancy BMI, and prenatal variables (weight gain, smoking, and presence of diabetes and preeclampsia) on BMI Z differences between N and OB was also explored. Adiposity rebound (AR) was not observed for the N, although for the OW, it occurred ∼52 months and for the OB at ∼24 months. BMI Z differences between N and OB were significant from birth, but were greatest between 6–12 and 36–52 months. Additional adjustment by birth weight, pre‐pregnancy BMI, and prenatal variables decreased the BMI Z differences for the first 24 months with virtually no effect after this age. Accelerated growth in OB children from post‐transition countries occurs immediately after birth, much earlier than the AR. The influence of prenatal factors on adiposity acquisition may extend at most until 2 years of life, although BMI gains thereafter are more related to postnatal variables.

Ultrasensitive estrogen levels at 7 years of age predict earlier thelarche: evidence from girls of the growth and obesity Chilean cohort

“…Since 2006 (mean age 4 years), we collected longitudinal data on anthropometric measures, skeletal maturation, metabolic and hormonal markers and semiannual Tanner assessments (every 6 months) (18). More details of the study protocol have been published elsewhere (19). For the present study, cases were identified based on the presence of early thelarche (ET), defined as the appearance of a 'breast bud' below the areola (palpable subareolar bud; Tanner B2) (20) prior to 8 years.…”

“…Anthropometric measures " Annually trained dietitians obtained anthropometric measurements in all girls (barefoot and in light clothes) using standardized protocols (intra-class correlation for all measurements R0.75) (19,21). Weight was measured with a portable electronic measurement scale (Seca 770, Seca Latda, Hamburg, Germany), precision of 0.1 kg, and height was measured with a portable stadiometer (Harpenden 603; Holtain LTD, Crosswell, UK) to the nearest 0.1 cm.…”

Alarming weight gain in women of a post-transitional country

“…Briefly, GOCS is a population-based ambispective cohort of 1195 children born in 2002 in six low-and middle-income counties from the south area of Santiago, Chile (9,10) . The study sample is representative of the Chilean women resident in the Metropolitan Region (that concentrates 40 % of the total Chilean population) who receive care at the National Health Care Service System (low-and middle-income Chilean population, which is nearly 70 % of the entire population (7,11) ; ethnic minorities are less than 5 % of the total) (12) .…”

Validation of Total Daily Energy Expenditure Calculated with Actiheart against Doubly Labeled Water Method in Costa Rican Schoolchildren

“…The increase of these conditions start by the age of six [36] [37], and it has also been identified in Costa Rican schoolchildren with a prevalence of the 26.2% [38].…”