Relation of Childhood Height to Obesity Among Adults: The Bogalusa Heart Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Objective. In a previous study of the role of various predictors of adult obesity, we found that relatively tall children had a higher body mass index (BMI; kg/m 2 ) in early adulthood. In this study, the objective was to determine whether childhood height is related to adult adiposity and whether the association is independent of childhood levels of BMI and triceps skinfold thickness.Methods. The longitudinal relations of childhood height to relative weight and skinfold (sum of subscapular and triceps) thicknesses in adulthood were examined in a larger sample (N ‫؍‬ 1055) of 2-to 8-year-olds who were followed for an average of 18 years.Results. Compared with children whose heights were below the gender-and age-specific median, a child with a height-for-age above the 95th percentile (P) was approximately 2.5 times as likely to have a BMI >30 kg/m 2 and approximately 5 times as likely to have a skinfold sum >90th P in adulthood. Although height and adiposity were associated (r ‫؍‬ 0.29) among children, the observed longitudinal relations persisted after controlling for BMI and the triceps skinfold thickness in childhood. For example, among children with the same BMI, each 10-cm difference in height was associated with differences in adulthood of 0.9 kg/m 2 for BMI and 4 mm for the skinfold sum.Conclusions. Although these results need to be confirmed in other studies, it is possible that information on childhood height could be used to identify more accurately children who are likely to be obese in later life. Pediatrics 2002;109(2). URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/ cgi/content/full/109/2/e23; body mass index, skinfold thickness, children, longitudinal study, height, obesity.ABBREVIATIONS. BMI, body mass index; P, percentile.A lthough childhood levels of relative weight are predictive of subsequent levels, most of the variability in adult adiposity, typically assessed by the body mass index (BMI; kg/m 2 ) or various skinfold thicknesses, cannot be accounted for by levels in early life. In addition, a wide range of correlation coefficients (r ϭ 0 -0.84), predictive values (26%-77%), and relative risks (1.5-7) have been reported in studies that have investigated the tracking of BMI from childhood to adulthood (reviewed in Serdula et al 1 and Parsons et al 2 ). In general, the magnitude of these estimates is inversely associated with 1) the length of follow-up and 2) the age at which the initial measurement is made.Other childhood determinants of adult adiposity have been examined, and it has been suggested that early childhood may be a critical period for the development of obesity. 3 After a rapid increase in BMI levels during the first year of life, mean levels decrease and reach a minimum of approximately 15 kg/m 2 between 4 and 8 years of age. The beginning of the subsequent increase in BMI levels throughout childhood and adolescence has been termed the "adiposity rebound," and several investigators 4 -6 have suggested that an early rebound in BMI levels (eg, at 4 years of age) increases the risk for adu...

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