Early life growth trajectories and future risk for overweight

Abstract

Using a newly developed statistical technique, our objective was to test whether key aspects of growth trajectories between 0–24 months of age, such as size, velocity, and timing of peak velocity, were independently associated with overweight in late childhood. We used data from a birth cohort in Mexico (n=586) and the SuperImposition by Translation and Rotation (SITAR) method to estimate infant/childhood (0–24 months) growth trajectories for BMI, height, and weight. The SITAR method uses a nonlinear random‐effects model to estimate the average growth curve and each individual's deviation from this average curve on three dimensions—size, velocity, and timing of peak velocity. In separate models for each of the anthropometric measures (BMI, height, and weight), logistic regression estimated the association between overweight in late childhood and size, velocity, and timing of the BMI/height/weight trajectory. In crude models, relative BMI/height/weight (size) and BMI/height/weight velocity during 0–24 months were each associated with increased odds of overweight. In the mutually‐adjusted models, only relative BMI/height/weight (size), but not velocity, remained statistically significant. We found no evidence that the association between velocity and overweight varied by size. These results are not consistent with the hypothesis that growth velocity in infancy programs future risk for overweight.Grant Funding Source : This work was supported by pilot funds from the Berkeley Population Center NICHD R21 (HD056581).