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  • Original Article
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Earlier BMI rebound and lower pre-rebound BMI as risk of obesity among Japanese preschool children

International Journal of Obesity volume 42, pages 52–58 (2018)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives:

Longitudinal growth data of children were analyzed to clarify the relationship between the timing of body mass index (BMI) rebound and obesity risk in later ages.

Subjects/Methods:

Of 54 558 children born between April 2004 and March 2005 and longitudinally measured in April and October every year in the preschool period, 15 255 children were analyzed wherein no longitudinal measurement is missing after 1 year of age. BMI rebound age was determined as the age with smallest BMI value across longitudinal individual data after 1 year of age. Rebound age was compared between overweight and non-overweight groups. The subjects were divided into groups based on the timing of rebound. The sex- and age-adjusted mean of the BMI, height and weight s.d. scores for age group, along with 6 months weight and height gain, were compared among groups using analysis of covariance.

Results:

Among those who were overweight at 66–71 months of age, BMI rebound age obtained at approximately 3 years of age was compared with the non-overweight group, whose BMI rebound age was utmost 66 months or later (P<0.001). The comparison among BMI age group showed that earlier BMI rebound results in larger BMI (P<0.001) and larger weight and height gain after the rebound (P<0.001). Among the group with BMI rebound earlier than 30 months of age, low BMI was observed (P<0.001). Slight elevation of height and weight gain was observed before the BMI rebound among groups with rebound age earlier than 60 months of age (P<0.001).

Conclusion:

Earlier BMI rebound timing with pre-rebound low BMI leads to greater childhood obesity risk; hence, early detection and prevention is necessary for such cases.

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Acknowledgements

This study was conducted as a part of the 'Surveillance study on child health in the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster area' and supported in full by funding from the Health and Labour Sciences Research Grant (H24-jisedai-shitei-007, fukkou). The following are the members of the working group for childhood physical development evaluation based on the grant above: Shigeo Kure (PI), Professor and Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Tohoku University; Susumu Yokoya, Department of Medical Subspecialties, National Center for Child Health and Development; Toshiaki Tanaka, President, Japanese Society of Auxology; Noriko Kato, Research Managing Director, National Institute of Public Health; Tsuyoshi Isojima, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo; Shoichi Chida, Professor and Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Iwate Medical University; Mitsuaki Hosoya, Professor and Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Fukushima Medical University; Atsushi Ono, Research associate, Department of Pediatrics, Fukushima Medical University; Zentaro Yamagata, Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Yamanashi University; Hiroshi Yokomichi, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Yamanashi University; Soichiro Tanaka, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Tohoku University; Shinichi Kuriyama, Professor, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University; Masahiro Kikuya, Associate Professor, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo), Tohoku University; Mami Ishikuro, Assistant Professor, ToMMo, Tohoku University; Hiroko Matsubara, Postdoctoral research associate, IRIDeS, Tohoku University. We wish to express their appreciation to the nursery teachers who completed questionnaires, as well as to Dr Ikuo Endo, President of the Japan Society for Well-Being of Nursery-Schoolers for their support and cooperation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Jumonji University, Niiza, Japan

    N Kato

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    T Isojima

  3. Department of Medical Subspecialties, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan

    S Yokoya & M Hosoya

  4. Japan Association for Human Auxology, Tokyo, Japan

    T Tanaka

  5. Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan

    A Ono

  6. Department of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Chuo, Japan

    H Yokomichi & Z Yamagata

  7. Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    S Tanaka & S Kure

  8. Department of Disaster Public Health, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    H Matsubara & S Kuriyama

  9. Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    M Ishikuro, M Kikuya, S Kuriyama & S Kure

  10. Department of Molecular Epidemiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

    M Ishikuro, M Kikuya & S Kuriyama

  11. Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan

    S Chida

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  1. N Kato
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  2. T Isojima
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  3. S Yokoya
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  8. S Tanaka
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  9. H Matsubara
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  10. M Ishikuro
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  13. M Hosoya
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  14. S Kuriyama
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  15. S Kure
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to N Kato.

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Kato, N., Isojima, T., Yokoya, S. et al. Earlier BMI rebound and lower pre-rebound BMI as risk of obesity among Japanese preschool children. Int J Obes 42, 52–58 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2017.242

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2017.242

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