Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Paper
  • Published:

BMI rebound, childhood height and obesity among adults: the Bogalusa Heart Study

International Journal of Obesity volume 25, pages 543–549 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The beginning of the post-infancy rise in the body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) has been termed the adiposity rebound, and several studies have found that an early rebound increases the risk for overweight in adulthood. We examined whether this relation is independent of childhood BMI levels.

DESIGN: A longitudinal study of 105 subjects who examined at ages 5, 6, 7, 8 and 19–23 y.

RESULTS: Subjects with an age at the BMI rebound (agemin) of ≤5 y were, on average, 4–5 kg/m2 heavier in early adulthood than were subjects whose agemin was ≥7 y. Agemin, however, was also correlated with childhood BMI levels (r∼−0.5), and we found that agemin provided no additional information on adult overweight if the BMI level at age 7 y (or 8 y) was known. In contrast, childhood height, which was also correlated with agemin (r=−0.47), was independently related to adult BMI. Among relatively heavy (BMI=16.0 kg/m2) 5-y-olds, a child with a height of 120 cm was estimated to be 1.2 kg/m2 heavier in adulthood than would a 104 cm tall child.

CONCLUSIONS: Although an early BMI rebound was related to higher levels of relative weight in adulthood, this association was not independent of childhood BMI levels. The relation of childhood height to adult BMI needs to confirmed in other cohorts, but it is possible that childhood height may help identify children who are likely to become overweight adults.

International Journal of Obesity (2001) 25, 543–549

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Johnson FE . Health implications of childhood obesity Ann Intern Med 1985 103 (6 Pt 2): 1068–1072.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Serdula MK, Ivery D, Coates RJ, Freedman DS, Williamson DF, Byers T . Do obese children become obese adults? A review of the literature Prev Med 1993 22: 167–177.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Power C, Lake JK, Cole TJ . Measurement and long-term health risks of child and adolescent fatness Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1997 21: 507–526.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Cole TJ . Weight-stature indices to measure underweight, overweight, and obesity In: Himes JH (ed) Anthropometric assessment of nutritional status Wiley-Liss: New York 1991 pp 83–111.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Dietz WH, Bellizzi MC . Introduction: the use of body mass index to assess obesity in children Am J Clin Nutr 1999 70 (Suppl): 123S–125S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Rolland-Cachera MF, Deheeger M, Bellisle F, Sempe M, Guilloud-Bataille M, Patois E . Adiposity rebound in children: a simple indicator for predicting obesity Am J Clin Nutr 1984 39: 129–135.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Rolland-Cachera MF, Deheeger M, Guilloud-Bataille M, Avons P, Patois E, Sempe M . Tracking the development of adiposity from one month of age to adulthood Ann Hum Biol 1987 14: 219–229.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Siervogal RM, Roche AF, Guo SM, Mukhergee D, Chumlea WC . Patterns of change in weight/stature2 from 2 to 18 y: Findings from the long-term serial data for children in the Fels Longitudinal Growth Study Int J Obes 1991 15: 479–485.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Prokopee M, Bellisle F . Adiposity in Czech children followed from 1 month of age to adulthood: analysis of individual BMI patterns Ann Hum Biol 1993 20: 517–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Whitaker RC, Pepe MS, Wright JA, Seidel KD, Dietz WH . Early adiposity rebound and the risk of adult obesity Pediatrics 1998 101 (3): E5 (electronic publ, http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/101/3/e5)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Williams S, Davie G, Lam F . Predicting BMI in young adults from childhood data using two approaches to modelling adiposity rebound Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1999 23: 348–354.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Dietz WH . Periods of risk in childhood for the development of adult obesity—what do we need to learn? J Nutr 1997 27 (Suppl): 1884S–1886S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Berenson GS . Cardiovascular risk factors in children Oxford University Press: New York 1980 pp 240–257.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Freedman DS, Srinivasan SR, Valdez RA, Williamson DF, Berenson GS . Secular increases in relative weight and adiposity among children over two decades: The Bogalusa Heart Study Pediatrics 1997 99: 420–425.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Cleveland WS . The elements of graphing data Wadsworth Inc: Monterey, Ca 1985 pp 167–178.

  16. Frisancho AR . Anthropometric standards for the assessment of growth and nutritional status University of Michigan Press: Ann Arbor, MI 1990.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  17. Roche AF . The adipocyte-number hypothesis Child Dev 1981 52: 31–43.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Dietz WH . Critical periods in childhood for the development of obesity Am J Clin Nutr 1994 59: 955–959.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Freeman JV, Power C, Rodgers B . Weight-for-height indices of adiposity: relationships with height in childhood and early adult life Int J Epidemiol 1995 24: 970–976.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Flegal KM . Curve smoothing and transformations in the development of growth curves Am J Clin Nutr 1999 70 (Suppl): 163s–165s.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Franklin MF . Comparison of weight and height relations in boys from 4 countries Am J Clin Nutr 1999 70 (Suppl): 157S–162S.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Freedman DS, Kettel-Khan L, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS . Black/white differences in relative weight and obesity among girls: the Bogalusa Heart Study Prev Med 2000 30: 234–243.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Fomon SJ, Haschke F, Ziegler EE, Nelson SE . Body composition of reference children from birth to age 10 y Am J Clin Nutr 1982 35: 1169–1175.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Garn SM, Leonard WR, Hawthorne VM . Three limitations of the body mass index Am J Clin Nutr 1986 44: 996–997.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Moisan J, Meyer F, Gingras S . A nested case-control study of the correlates of early menarche Am J Epidemiol 1990 132: 953–961.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. St George IM, Williams S, Silva PA . Body size and the menarche: the Dunedin Study J Adolesc Health 1994 15: 573–576.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Koprowski C, Ross RK, Mack WJ, Henderson BE, Bernstein L . Diet, body size and menarche in a multiethnic cohort Br J Cancer 1999 79: 1907–1911.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Voors AW, Harsha DW, Webber LS, Berenson GS . Obesity and external sexual maturation—the Bogalusa Hearth Study Prev Med 1981 10: 50–61.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Power C, Lake JK, Cole TJ . Body mass index and height from childhood to adult life in the 1958 British birth cohort Am J Clin Nutr 1997 66: 1094–1101.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. van Lenthe FJ, Kemper CG, van Mechelen W . Rapid maturation in adolescence results in greater obesity in adulthood: the Amsterdam Growth and Health Study Am J Clin Nutr 1996 64: 18–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Sinaiko AR, Donahue RP, Jacobs DR Jr, Prineas RJ . Relation of weight and rate of increase in weight during childhood and adolescence to body size, blood pressure, fasting insulin, and lipids in young adults. The Minneapolis Children's Blood Pressure Study Circulation 1999 99: 1471–1476.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Rolland-Cachera MF, Sempe M, Guilloud-Bataille M, Patois E, Pequignot-Guggenbuhl F, Fautrad V . Adiposity indices in children Am J Clin Nutr 1982 36: 178–184.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Dr William Dietz for his insightful comments on the analysis of the data, and on the implications of the results. This work was supported by grant HL 38844 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health; and by funds from the CDC and Robert W Woodruff Foundations.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    DS Freedman, L Kettel Khan & MK Serdula

  2. Tulane Center for Cardiovascular Health, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    SR Srinivasan & GS Berenson

Authors
  1. DS Freedman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L Kettel Khan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. MK Serdula
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. SR Srinivasan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. GS Berenson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to DS Freedman.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Freedman, D., Kettel Khan, L., Serdula, M. et al. BMI rebound, childhood height and obesity among adults: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Int J Obes 25, 543–549 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801581

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801581

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links