Background: A rapid weight gain during infancy increases adult lean body mass, whereas weight gain during adiposity rebound at age 4-7 years results in increased adult fat mass and an increased risk of the metabolic syndrome and T2D. Here we classified non-syndromic childhood overweight into an infantile (early) onset (EO) and a late onset (LO, age 4-7) groups and characterized the growth patterns of the two.
Methods: The subjects were 1716 children (575 girls) of the 1974 Gothenburg cohort, of which 169 were overweight or obese at age 18 (BMI>25 kg/m2). 64 children of the overweight group (28 girls) had EO, age
Results: The adiposity rebound at comparable ages. During childhood (age 1.5-3.5y; p=0.050) and juvenility (age 7-9y; p=0.017), and at age 18y (p=0.041), girls, but not boys of the EO group were taller and heavier (p=0.046), and their mothers were taller (p=0.001). The ICT (infant to childhood transition) and the peak height velocity, indicating pubertal tempo, were comparable.
Conclusions: 1. The EO group had relatively more girls and they were more affected by EO than the LO group. 2. During childhood, juvenility and age 18 girls of the EO group were taller than girls of the LO group. 3. These can be used to distinguish between obese children who are likely (LO) or unlikely to embark on a trajectory, which leads to insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome, and T2D (EO).