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  • Pediatric Original Article
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Macrosomia is associated with high weight-for-height in children aged 1–3 years in Shanghai, China

International Journal of Obesity volume 32, pages 55–60 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To investigate the association between macrosomia and high weight-for-length/height in 1–3 years old Chinese infants.

Design:

A retrospective longitudinal study.

Subjects:

918 children aged 1–3 years in Shanghai, China.

Measurements:

Body weight and length/height, illness status and feeding modalities were obtained during follow-up. Macrosomia was defined as birth weight ⩾90th percentile of sex specific birth weight distribution. High weight-for-length/height was defined as a weight-for-length/height z-score ⩾1.68 using the WHO growth reference.

Results:

The odds ratios (ORs) for high weight-for-length/height were 3.60 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.74–7.42) for boys and 1.39 (95% CI, 0.51–3.81) for girls who were macrosomic compared with the nonmacrosomic counterparts after adjustment for age. The ORs were attenuated to 3.48 (95% CI, 1.63–7.43) for boys and were still nonsignificant for girls (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 0.49–3.91) after further controlling for illness status, the age of breast-feeding cessation and the age at introduction of complementary foods. From the analysis of boys and girls combined, the ORs were 2.48 (95% CI, 1.40–4.40) with adjustment for age and sex and 2.33 (95% CI, 1.29–4.22) with all covariates.

Conclusion:

Macrosomia is an important predictor for high weight-for-length/height in Chinese children aged 1–3 years.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology of China (973 Program, Grant No. 2006CB503900) and Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (Grants No. 04DZ14007). We thank all of the participants involved in this study and the health professionals who carried out the physical examination of the children.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biologic Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P.R. China

    Z Yu & X Lin

  2. Department of Nutrition, Huadong Hospital, Shanghai, P.R. China

    J Q Sun

  3. Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    J D Haas

  4. Huangpu Hospital on Women's and Children's Health, Shanghai, P.R. China

    Y Gu & Z Li

Authors
  1. Z Yu
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  2. J Q Sun
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to J Q Sun or X Lin.

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Yu, Z., Sun, J., Haas, J. et al. Macrosomia is associated with high weight-for-height in children aged 1–3 years in Shanghai, China. Int J Obes 32, 55–60 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803765

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