Abstract
(1) Background: This study investigated the relevance of morning and evening energy and macronutrient intake during childhood for body composition in early adolescence; (2) Methods: Analyses were based on data from 372 DONALD (DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed study) participants. Explorative life-course plots were performed to examine whether morning or evening energy and macronutrient intake at 3/4 years, 5/6 years, or 7/8 years is critical for fat mass index (FMI [kg/m2]) and fat free mass index (FFMI [kg/m2]) in early adolescence (10/11 years). Subsequently, exposures in periods identified as consistently critical were examined in depth using adjusted regression models; (3) Results: Life-course plots identified morning fat and carbohydrate (CHO) intake at 3/4 years and 7/8 years as well as changes in these intakes between 3/4 years and 7/8 years as potentially critical for FMI at 10/11 years. Adjusted regression models corroborated higher FMI values at 10/11 years among those who had consumed less fat (p = 0.01) and more CHO (p = 0.01) in the morning at 7/8 years as well as among those who had decreased their morning fat intake (p = 0.02) and increased their morning CHO intake (p = 0.05) between 3/4 years and 7/8 years; (4) Conclusion: During childhood, adherence to a low fat, high CHO intake in the morning may have unfavorable consequences for FMI in early adolescence.
Highlights
Primary school years have recently been identified as a potentially “critical period” for the development and persistence of overweight and obesity [1] in different Western societies [2,3].children with a body mass index (BMI) in the upper normal range before and during primary school were at higher risk for obesity development until the end of primary school compared to those who had a BMI in the lower range [4]
Children with a body mass index (BMI) in the upper normal range before and during primary school were at higher risk for obesity development until the end of primary school compared to those who had a BMI in the lower range [4]
The DONALD (DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed) study is an ongoing open cohort study conducted in Dortmund, Germany, which was previously described in detail [9]
Summary
Children with a body mass index (BMI) in the upper normal range before and during primary school were at higher risk for obesity development until the end of primary school compared to those who had a BMI in the lower range [4] These developments may in part be attributable to the considerable changes in children’s daily routine, as entry into institutions like kindergarten and primary school results in an externally determined time window for morning intake and affects the timing and duration of evening intake due to less flexible bed times. Similar associations have been suggested for moderate disruptions due to irregular meal times or delayed bed times [7]
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