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Growth in early life and the development of obesity by age 9 years: are there critical periods and a role for an early life stressor?

International Journal of Obesity volume 37, pages 513–519 (2013)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

Rapid growth, possibly occurring in critical periods in early life, may be important for the development of obesity. It is unknown whether this is influenced by postnatal exposures such as age-relevant sources of stress. Frequent house moves may be one such stressor. We aimed to examine if there is a period of growth in early life critical for the development of child obesity by age 9 years and assess the role of house moves in modifying any relationships between early life growth and obesity at age 9 years.

Design:

Prospective Australian birth cohort study.

Subjects:

In all, 392 children with serial body size measurements from birth to age 9 years.

Methods:

Standardized body mass index (z-BMI) was available for six time points (spanning birth to 3½ years), and the total number of house moves between birth and 3½ years. The outcomes considered were z-BMI and % body fat (%BF) at age 9 years. Linear regression models were used to estimate the effects of serial measurements of z-BMI and number of house moves on the outcomes.

Results:

Life-course plots showed that z-BMI at 3½ years was a statistically significant predictor of z-BMI at 9 years (β=0.80; standard error (s.e.), 0.04), whereas z-BMI at 9 months (β=−1.13; s.e., 0.40) and 3½ years (β=4.82; s.e., 0.42) were significant predictors of %BF at age 9 years. There were statistically significant interactions between the number of house moves and change in z-BMI between 9 and 12 months, such that ⩾3 house moves in early life amplified the detrimental effects of earlier rapid growth on both body size and composition at age 9 years.

Conclusion:

In the absence of evidence for a single critical period, efforts to prevent overweight and obesity are required throughout childhood. In addition, modifiable postnatal stressors may exacerbate effects of early growth on obesity in later childhood.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the women and children who have participated in the Generation 1 study and also to other family members who have supported the study. We thank Professor Jeffrey Robinson (of the Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Adelaide) for his role in cohort establishment. We also thank Kendall Smith (of the Discipline of Public Health, The University of Adelaide) for study co-ordination and the staff members involved in interviews, database construction and data entry. This study was supported by grants from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide, Dairy Research and Development Corporation, Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation, National Health and Medical Research Council (Grants 465455, 465437, Career Development Award in Population Health 349548 to MJD, and Australian Based Public Health Training Fellowship 627033 to LCG), and Australian Research Council (ARC Future Fellowship FT100101018 to MJD).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Discipline of Public Health, School of Population Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    L C Giles, C E Davies & V M Moore

  2. Research Centre for the Early Origins of Health and Disease, Robinson Institute, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    L C Giles, M J Whitrow, A R Rumbold, J B Pitcher, M J Davies & V M Moore

  3. Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    M J Whitrow, A R Rumbold & M J Davies

  4. Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia

    A R Rumbold

  5. Discipline of Statistics, School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    C E Davies

  6. Department of Medical Statistics, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    B de Stavola

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  1. L C Giles
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Correspondence to L C Giles.

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Giles, L., Whitrow, M., Rumbold, A. et al. Growth in early life and the development of obesity by age 9 years: are there critical periods and a role for an early life stressor?. Int J Obes 37, 513–519 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2012.219

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