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  • Original Article
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Body composition, energy expenditure and physical activity

Velocities of weight, height and fat mass gain during potentially critical periods of growth are decisive for adult body composition

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 69, pages 262–268 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives:

To examine whether maximal velocities of weight, height and fat mass during potentially critical periods of growth were associated with body composition in young adulthood.

Subjects/methods:

Analyses were performed on 277 female and 271 male participants of the DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) study with anthropometric measurements in young adulthood (18–25 years) as well as early life (0–2 years), mid-childhood (3–8 years) or puberty (9–15 years). Maximum growth velocities were calculated using the SuperImposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) routine or polynomial functions and related to adult fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI).

Results:

In early life, faster weight gain was associated with a moderately higher FMI and FFMI in young adulthood in women only (Ptrend=0.01). In mid-childhood and puberty, weight and fat mass velocities were related to adult FMI and FFMI in both sexes (Ptrend⩽0.002): relative differences between the highest and lowest tertiles of these growth velocities ranged 33–69% for adult FMI and 6–12% for adult FFMI. A higher mid-childhood height velocity was related to a modestly higher adult FMI in women only (Ptrend=0.0005).

Conclusions:

Faster gain in weight and body fat during mid-childhood and puberty appear to be particularly relevant for adult fat mass.

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Acknowledgements

The participation of all children and their families in the DONALD Study is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank the staff of the DONALD Study for carrying out the anthropometric measurements and for carrying out the medical examinations. Special thanks go to Professor Tim J Cole for his constructive comments related to the development of the statistical models. The DONALD Study is funded by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. This analysis was funded by a grant from the Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WCRF NL) (grant no. 2010/248). Further conceptual input was provided by the Kompetenznetz Adipositas (Competence Network Obesity) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FKZ: 01GI1121A).

Author contributions

All authors read and approved the final manuscript. AEB, ALBG and AK conceived the project. GC and KB performed the statistical analyses. GC and AEB wrote the manuscript. AEB supervised the study. All authors critically reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content.

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The interpretation and reporting of these data are the sole responsibility of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    G Cheng

  2. IEL-Nutritional Epidemiology, University of Bonn, DONALD Study at the Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Dortmund, Germany

    G Cheng, K Bolzenius, G Joslowski & A E Buyken

  3. Department of Nutritional, Food and Consumer Sciences, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Fulda, Germany

    G Cheng, A L B Günther & A Kroke

  4. Institute of Epidemiology I, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen—German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany

    J Heinrich

Authors
  1. G Cheng
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  2. K Bolzenius
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  3. G Joslowski
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  5. A Kroke
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  7. A E Buyken
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Correspondence to A E Buyken.

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Cheng, G., Bolzenius, K., Joslowski, G. et al. Velocities of weight, height and fat mass gain during potentially critical periods of growth are decisive for adult body composition. Eur J Clin Nutr 69, 262–268 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.131

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.131

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