Association between infant nutrition and anthropometry, and pre-pubertal body composition in urban South African children

Abstract

Early life nutrition and growth are related to subsequent obesity risk in high-income countries. We investigated the association between nutrition and growth during infancy, and body composition at 10 years of age in 140 children selected from the Bone Health sub-study of the Birth-to-Twenty cohort from Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. Infant feeding and dietary data were collected during the first 12 months, and weight and height were measured at 1 and 2 years of age. At 10 years, anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-derived body composition were measured. Regression models were used to determine associations between independent and dependent variables at the 1% level of significance. A one z-score increase in birth weight was associated with a 1051 g increase in lean mass and a 0.22 increase in body mass index (BMI) z-score at the age of 10 years. After adjusting for confounders, stunting at age 1 year was associated with lower fat mass only at 10 years of age while at age 2 years, it was associated with lower lean mass only. Being underweight at one year of age was significantly associated with lower lean mass only. Weight-for-age (WAZ) change in the second year of infancy was a predictor of fat mass and BMI only. Body fatness at 10 years of age was positively associated with infant WAZ change rather than height-for-age change. There were no significant associations between infant dietary patterns, wasting and being underweight at age 2 years and pre-pubertal body composition. Further studies are needed to assess whether these associations continue during adolescence as pubertal development may be an important modifier of these associations.

A review of adolescent nutrition in South Africa: transforming adolescent lives through nutrition initiative

“…The majority of studies were conducted within eight of South Africa's nine provinces (i.e. the country's principal administrative districts); specifically: Eastern Cape (n = 3), 72,75,76 Free State (n = 1), 71 Gauteng (n = 25), 22,26,31,32,[35][36][37]40,46,[48][49][50][51][52][56][57][58][61][62][63]69,[77][78][79][80] KwaZulu -Natal (n = 3), 23,59,60 Limpopo (n = 4), 28,29,81,83 Mpumalanga (n = 8), 44,45,[66][67][68]73,82,86 North West (n = 9) 25,27,30,42,47,64,…”

“…34,38,39,70 Eleven pairs of studies were based on the same study sample and are therefore presented together. 28,29,38,39,44,45,[49][50][51][52][53][54][57][58][59][60]66,67,[75][76][77][78] The publication year ranged from 1997 to 2018. Sixteen studies used quantitative cross-sectional or longitudinal data (various ages between 10 and 19 years) from the Birth-to-Twenty (BTT) cohort, an urban longitudinal birth cohort in Soweto, Gauteng (n = 3273).…”

“…Sixteen studies used quantitative cross-sectional or longitudinal data (various ages between 10 and 19 years) from the Birth-to-Twenty (BTT) cohort, an urban longitudinal birth cohort in Soweto, Gauteng (n = 3273). 31,[35][36][37]46,[48][49][50]57,58,61,[77][78][79][80]87 Of the remaining studies, 47 followed quantitative cross-sectional designs and four were qualitative studies. 51,52,68,83 Sample size ranged between 50 and 3 490 for quantitative studies and between 22 and 58 for qualitative studies.…”

Ethnic Differences in Peripheral Skeletal Development Among Urban South African Adolescents: A Ten-Year Longitudinal pQCT Study

“…In total, 683 participants were included in the Bone Health subcohort. DXA and hand‐wrist radiography were performed annually from Y10 of the study, and fractures were recorded retrospectively at time points Y10, Y13, Y15, and Y17/Y18 . pQCT was performed annually from Y13 onward, on 543 participants.…”

Size at Birth: Effect on Nutrition and Adult Onset Disease

“…Studies now support the relationship between childhood nutrition and adult lean body mass (LBM). Observations from the Birth-To-Twenty cohort from urban South Africa (Kagura et al, 2012) noted that underweight at one year had significant association with lower lean body mass at 10 years. They also noted that body fat at 10 years of age was positively associated with infant WAZ score change during the second year.…”