Systematic review and meta-analyses of risk factors for childhood overweight identifiable during infancy

Weng, Stephen Franklin; Redsell, Sarah A.; Swift, Judy A.; Yang, Min; Glazebrook, Cristine P.

Abstract

Objective To determine risk factors for childhood
overweight that can be identified during the first year of
life to facilitate early identification and targeted
intervention.
Design Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Search strategy Electronic database search of
MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed and CAB Abstracts.
Eligibility criteria Prospective observational studies
following up children from birth for at least 2 years.
Results Thirty prospective studies were identified.
Significant and strong independent associations with
childhood overweight were identified for maternal prepregnancy
overweight, high infant birth weight and rapid
weight gain during the first year of life. Meta-analysis
comparing breastfed with non-breastfed infants found a
15% decrease (95% CI 0.74 to 0.99; I2=73.3%; n=10)
in the odds of childhood overweight. For children of
mothers smoking during pregnancy there was a 47%
increase (95% CI 1.26 to 1.73; I2=47.5%; n=7) in the
odds of childhood overweight. There was some evidence
associating early introduction of solid foods and childhood
overweight. There was conflicting evidence for duration of
breastfeeding, socioeconomic status at birth, parity and
maternal marital status at birth. No association with
childhood overweight was found for maternal age or
education at birth, maternal depression or infant ethnicity.
There was inconclusive evidence for delivery type,
gestational weight gain, maternal postpartum weight loss
and ‘fussy’ infant temperament due to the limited
number of studies.
Conclusions Several risk factors for both overweight
and obesity in childhood are identifiable during infancy.
Future research needs to focus on whether it is clinically
feasible for healthcare professionals to identify infants at
greatest risk.

Citation

Weng, S. F., Redsell, S. A., Swift, J. A., Yang, M., & Glazebrook, C. P. (2012). Systematic review and meta-analyses of risk factors for childhood overweight identifiable during infancy. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 97(12), https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-302263

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 29, 2012
• Deposit Date: Apr 16, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 16, 2014
• Journal: Archives of Disease in Childhood
• Print ISSN: 0003-9888
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2044
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 97
• Issue: 12
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-302263
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/711741
• Publisher URL: http://adc.bmj.com/content/97/12/1019