Early rapid weight gain and overweight in young adulthood: evidence from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey

Abstract

Evidence from developed countries suggests that rapid weight gain during infancy and childhood is associated with increased risk of obesity and other negative health outcomes in later life. Less is known about how rapid weight gain affects outcomes in developing countries where infants more often experience catch‐up growth following intrauterine growth restriction. Our objective was to assess how early rapid weight gain is related to overweight in young adult participants in the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS), which follows a birth cohort to age 22 years (n=1,712). Overweight was defined as a measured body mass index of > 23 kg/m2. Rapid gain was defined as >0.67 SD increase in weight‐for‐age z‐score (WAZ) from birth to 4 mo. Adjusting for mother's height, parity, urbanicity and socioeconomic status, the odds of adult overweight in males were significantly higher among individuals who experienced rapid weight gain compared to those who did not (OR=1.86, 95%CI: 1.24, 2.79). Effects of rapid weight gain were stronger for boys who were born small for gestational age (OR=2.63, 95%CI: 1.29, 5.38). Results in girls indicated small or no effects. This study supports the hypothesis that early rapid weight gain has long‐term implications for weight status and demonstrates that trajectories which lead to overweight are established in the first 4 months of life.