Predicting the development of overweight and obesity in children between 2.5 and 8 years of age: The prospective ABIS study

Abstract

Summary Background A relationship between overweight and obesity early in life and adolescence has been reported. The aim of this study was to track changes in overweight/obesity in children and to assess risk factors related to the persistence of overweight/obesity between 2.5 and 8 years. Study design Children who participated in all three follow‐ups at 2.5, 5 and 8 years in the prospective cohort All Children in Southeast Sweden (ABIS) (N = 2245, 52.1% boys and 47.9% girls) were classified as underweight, normal, overweight or with obesity, and changes within categories with age were related to risk factors for development of obesity in a multivariate analysis. Results The prevalence of overweight and obesity between 2.5 and 8 years was 11%–12% and 2%–3%, respectively. Children with normal weight remained in the same category over the years, 86% between 2.5 to 5 years and 87% between 5 and 8 years. Overweight and obesity at 5 and 8 years were positively related to each other (p < 0.0001 for both). High level of TV watching at 8 years and high maternal body mass index (BMI) when the child was 5 years were related to lower probability to a normalized ISO‐BMI between 5 and 8 years of age (p < 0.05 for both). Conclusion Children with ISO‐BMI 18.5 to 24.9 remain in that range during the first 8 years of life. Children with overweight early in life gain weight and develop obesity, and children with obesity tend to remain with obesity up to 8 years of age. TV watching and high maternal BMI were related to lower probability to weight normalization between 5 and 8 years of age. A multidisciplinary approach to promote dietary and physical activity changes in the entire family should be used for the treatment and prevention of overweight and obesity in early childhood.

Changes in body composition by age and obesity status in preschool-aged children: the STEPS study

“…In the present study, we found that majority of the preschool-aged children remained normal weight between ages 3 and 5 years but also that those children having overweight at age of 3 mainly remained overweight at age of 5. These findings are in line with other population-based studies using BMImeasures 25,26 . Obesity at age of 3 years has been shown to predict overweight or obesity at adolescence 24 and the importance to screen and prevent obesity at preschool age is well acknowledge in other studies 23,24,31 .…”

“…In a large population-based study, the probability of having overweight or obesity in adolescence was almost 90% for those having obesity at age of 3 years 24 . Also other population-based studies have shown that children having normal weight at early years of life remains normal weight at school age, but those children having overweight develop obesity and those having obesity remains obese [24][25][26] . However, previous data relies on BMI-measures and similar data on changes in body composition at preschool age…”

Development, implementation and early results of a 12‐week web‐based intervention targeting 51 children age 5–13 years and their families

“…Obesity in childhood is likely to track into adulthood 2–4 . Longitudinal data from children born 1997–1999 in Sweden show that children with overweight or obesity at five years of age tend to remain living with overweight or obesity later in childhood 5 . However, there is also considerable new development of obesity 2,4,6 .…”

A Practical Screening Tool to Predict Early Childhood Obesity Risk: Examining a Birth Cohort

“…Previously reported potential predictors for childhood obesity included maternal prepregnancy BMI >30 kg/m 2,10 maternal delivery BMI >30 kg/m 2,4,35 excessive gestational weight gain (>18 kg), 11-13 maternal smoking, 24,25 maternal diabetes, 15-17,38 maternal non-Caucasian ethnicity, 22,23 antenatal or perinatal antibiotics, 20,21 cesarean delivery, 18,19 LGA at birth, 17,26,29 and male sex. 22,23,27,28 We also categorized shorter duration of BF as an obesity predictor and defined this as either no BF or any duration of BF less than 6 months for this practical clinical endpoint.…”

“…In the United States, 39.8% of adults, 18.5% of youth between 2 and 19 years, and 13.9% of children between 2 and 5 years were obese in 2015-2016. 1 As a child matures, present body mass index (BMI) becomes increasingly predictive of later life BMI, 2 with half of obese adolescents having been overweight/obese since the age of 5 years. 3 Thus, preventing obesity in early childhood is critical.…”