Biomaterial Database

Childhood antecedents of adult obesity. Do chubby infants become obese adults? 1976

E Charney, and H C Goodman, and M McBride, and B Lyon, and R Pratt

We investigated whether obese infants tend to become obese adults. Records of subjects born between 1945 and 1955 were reviewed to select three cohorts based on weight in the first six months of age, which exceeded the 90th percentile at least once, ranged between 25th and 75th percentiles or was below 10th percentile at least once. Three hundred and sixty-six subjects, now between 20 and 30 years of age, were located and their present height and weight determined. Thirty-six per cent of those exceeding the 90th percentile as infants were overweight adults, as compared to 14 per cent of the average age and light-weight infants. A significant increase (chi square = 17.2, p less than 0.001) in adult obesity was evident when the infant exceeded the 75th percentile that was independent of his height. Social class, educational level, and parental weight all correlated with adult weight (p less than 0.001). Sex and ordinal position of birth did not. The data suggest that infant weight correlates strongly with adult weight independently of other factors considered.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D009765	Obesity	A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the recommended standards, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).
D011795	Surveys and Questionnaires	Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions.	Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D001724	Birth Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual at BIRTH. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Birthweight,Birth Weights,Birthweights,Weight, Birth,Weights, Birth
D001827	Body Height	The distance from the sole to the crown of the head with body standing on a flat surface and fully extended.	Body Heights,Height, Body,Heights, Body
D001835	Body Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Body Weights,Weight, Body,Weights, Body
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D004198	Disease Susceptibility	A constitution or condition of the body which makes the tissues react in special ways to certain extrinsic stimuli and thus tends to make the individual more than usually susceptible to certain diseases.	Diathesis,Susceptibility, Disease,Diatheses,Disease Susceptibilities,Susceptibilities, Disease