Abstract
BackgroundBody mass index (BMI) tracks from childhood-to-adulthood, but the extent to which this relationship varies across the distribution and according to socio-economic position (SEP) is unknown. We aimed to address this using data from three British cohort studies.MethodsWe used data from: 1946 National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD, n = 2470); 1958 National Child Development Study (NCDS, n = 7747); 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS, n = 5323). BMI tracking between 11 and 42 years was estimated using quantile regression, with estimates reflecting correlation coefficients. SEP disparities in tracking were investigated using a derived SEP variable based on parental education reported in childhood. This SEP variable was then interacted with the 11-year BMI z-score.ResultsIn each cohort and sex, tracking was stronger at the upper end of the distribution of BMI at 42 years. For example, for men in the 1946 NSHD, the tracking estimate at the 10th quantile was 0.31 (0.20, 0.41), increasing to 0.71 (0.61, 0.82) at the 90th quantile. We observed no strong evidence of SEP inequalities in tracking in men in the 1946 and 1958 cohorts. In the 1970 cohort, however, we observed tentative evidence of stronger tracking in low SEP groups, particularly in women and at the higher end of the BMI distribution. For example, women in the 1970 cohort from low SEP backgrounds had tracking coefficients at the 50th, 70th, and 90th quantiles, which were 0.05 (−0.04; 0.15), 0.19 (0.06; 0.31), and 0.22 (0.02; 0.43) units higher, respectively, than children from high SEP groups.ConclusionTracking was consistently stronger at the higher quantiles of the BMI distribution. We observed suggestive evidence for a pattern of greater BMI tracking in lower (compared to higher) SEP groups in the more recently born cohort, particularly in women and at the higher end of the BMI distribution.
Highlights
Supplementary information The online version of this article contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.The obesity epidemic is a serious global public health concern
For example tracking is observed to be stronger in lower socio-economic position (SEP) groups, this would suggest that children who are obese and from disadvantaged backgrounds would be more likely to be obese in adulthood than children who are obese but from advantaged backgrounds
In an exploratory analysis using data from three British birth cohort studies, we aimed to examine how childhood-to-adulthood Body mass index (BMI) tracking varies across the distribution and according to socio-economic position
Summary
In 2016 the worldwide prevalence of adult overweight or obesity (according to body mass index (BMI)) was 39% [1], with higher prevalence rates observed in highincome countries [2]. The 2016 Health Survey for England (HSE) for example, reported that 26% and 27% of adult men and women, respectively, were obese, with a further 40% of men and 30% of women being classified as overweight. An analysis using data from five UK birth cohorts [4] revealed a trend towards an earlier onset of obesity in more recent cohorts and a greater lifetime exposure. More recently born cohorts had probabilities of childhood overweight/obesity, which were two to three times greater than those for earlier born cohorts.
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