Increases in Fat Mass in Infancy Are Associated with Childhood Adiposity

Infants with rapid increases in fat mass percentage by 6 months of age have more adiposity at 2 years.

Weight gain in childhood and adolescence has been associated with increased cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors after age 21. These researchers investigated whether early nutritional “programming” of fat cells impacted adiposity later in childhood.

In this birth cohort study of 401 healthy, full-term infants born in the Netherlands, fat mass percentage (FM%) and weight-for-length were measured at ages 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months. Rapid increases were defined as a change greater than 0.67 standard deviation scores (SDS).

Among 333 infants with complete data, 26.1% had rapid FM% increases in the first 6 months of life, and 73.9% had nonrapid FM% changes. Among the findings:

Any increase in FM% (or weight-for-length) SDS between 1 and…

Reviewing Author

James A. Feinstein, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Editorial BoardsPediatrics

James A. Feinstein, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Editorial BoardsPediatrics

Increases in Fat Mass in Infancy Are Associated with Childhood Adiposity

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Reviewing Author