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Correlates of Lifestyle and Obesity

Birth weight and childhood obesity: a 12-country study

International Journal of Obesity Supplements volume 5, pages S74–S79 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

Few studies have investigated the association between the full range of birth weight and the risk of childhood obesity in high-, middle- and low-income countries. The aim of the present study is to assess the association between different levels of birth weight and the risk of obesity among children aged 9–11 years in 12 countries.

METHODS:

A multinational, cross-sectional study of 5141 children aged 9–11 years was conducted in 12 countries. Height and weight were obtained using standardized methods. Time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sedentary and sleeping were objectively measured using 24-h, waist-worn accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X+) monitored for 7 days. Birth weight and other factors (regions, parental education, maternal history of gestational diabetes, children age, gender, breast feeding, gestational age, unhealthy diet scores and healthy diet scores) were collected by parental and children’s questionnaires. Multilevel modeling was used to account for the nested nature of the data.

RESULTS:

The overall prevalence of obesity (BMI z-score>+2 s.d.) was 15.4% for boys and 10.0% for girls. There was a positive association between birth weight and BMI z-scores. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of childhood obesity were significantly higher among children whose birth weights were 3500–3999 g (OR 1.45; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10–1.92), and >4000 g (OR 2.08; 95% CI: 1.47–2.93), compared with the reference group (2500–2999 g). The positive association between birth weight and the odds of childhood obesity was seen in girls, whereas a U-shaped association appeared in boys.

CONCLUSIONS:

High levels of birth weight, defined as birth weight ⩾3500 g, were associated with increased odds of obesity among 9–11-year-old children in 12 countries. However, sex differences in the association between birth weight and the risk of obesity need to be considered when planning interventions to reduce childhood obesity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the ISCOLE External Advisory Board and the ISCOLE participants and their families who made this study possible. A membership list of the ISCOLE Research Group and External Advisory Board is included in Katzmarzyk et al. (this issue). ISCOLE was funded by The Coca-Cola Company.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Women’s and Children’s Health Center, Tianjin, China

    Y Qiao, J Ma, Y Wang, W Li & P Zhao

  2. Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Y Qiao, P T Katzmarzyk, W D Johnson, C Tudor-Locke, T S Church & G Hu

  3. Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    J-P Chaput & M S Tremblay

  4. Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    M Fogelholm

  5. St Johns Research Institute, Bangalore, India

    R Kuriyan & A Kurpad

  6. Department of Human Biology, Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    E V Lambert

  7. Alliance for Research in Exercise Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    C Maher & T Olds

  8. CIFI2D, Faculdade de Desporto, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    J Maia

  9. Centro de Estudos do Laboratório de Aptidão Física de São Caetano do Sul (CELAFISCS), Sao Paulo, Brazil

    V Matsudo

  10. Department of Recreation Management and Exercise Science, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

    V Onywera

  11. School of Medicine, Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Colombia

    O L Sarmiento

  12. University of Bath, Bath, UK

    M Standage

  13. Department of Kinesiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA

    C Tudor-Locke

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Competing interests

MF has received a research grant from Fazer Finland and has received an honorarium for speaking for Merck. AK has been a member of the Advisory Boards of Dupont and McCain Foods. RK has received a research grant from Abbott Nutrition Research and Development. VM is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Actigraph and has received an honorarium for speaking for The Coca-Cola Company. TO has received an honorarium for speaking for The Coca-Cola Company. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Qiao, Y., Ma, J., Wang, Y. et al. Birth weight and childhood obesity: a 12-country study. Int J Obes Supp 5 (Suppl 2), S74–S79 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijosup.2015.23

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