Infant and adult obesity

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Hi All,

The popular press report that heavy babies at birth and fast-growing early

infants

may predispose later life obesity. Also, see the not yet in Medline

pdf-available

article to which the report is attributed.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2005/10/14/babies-obese051014.html

Being big or growing fast: systematic review of size and growth in infancy and

later

obesity

Janis Baird, Fisher, Lucas, Jos Kleijnen, Helen ,

Law

BMJ. 2005 Oct 14; [Epub ahead of print]

Objectives To assess the association between infant size or growth and

subsequent

obesity and to determine if any association has been stable over time.

Design Systematic review.

Data sources Medline, Embase, bibliographies of included studies, contact with

first

authors of included studies and other experts.

Inclusion criteria Studies that assessed the relation between infant size or

growth

during the first two years of life and subsequent obesity.

Main outcome measure Obesity at any age after infancy.

Results 24 studies met the inclusion criteria (22 cohort and two case-control

studies). Of these, 18 assessed the relation between infant size and subsequent

obesity, most showing that infants who were defined as " obese " or who were at

the

highest end of the distribution for weight or body mass index were at increased

risk

of obesity. Compared with non-obese infants, in those who had been obese odds

ratios

or relative risks for subsequent obesity ranged from 1.35 to 9.38. Ten studies

assessed the relation of infant growth with subsequent obesity and most showed

that

infants who grew more rapidly were at increased risk of obesity. Compared with

other

infants, in infants with rapid growth odds ratios and relative risks of later

obesity ranged from 1.17 to 5.70. Associations were consistent for obesity at

different ages and for people born over a period from 1927 to 1994.

Conclusions Infants who are at the highest end of the distribution for weight or

body mass index or who grow rapidly during infancy are at increased risk of

subsequent obesity.

Al Pater, PhD; email: old542000@...

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- PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005

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