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Abstract
Background: Neonatal development may have an influence on post-natal nutritional status. Age at adiposity rebound is critical for later development of nutritional status.
Aim: The objective was to analyse the relationship between neonatal development and post-natal changes in nutritional status.
Subjects and methods: Subjects were studied in a longitudinal national survey (1980–2001) from birth (n = 6219) to 18.0 years (n = 1448). Subjects were divided into small (SGA), appropriate (AGA) and large for gestational age (LGA) sub-groups. Nutritional status was assessed by BMI. The Reed--Asefa model was fitted to the subject’s serial data of BMI.
Results: The body parameters of the neonatal developmental sub-groups differed significantly in all studied neonatal body dimensions: the higher the intra-uterine growth rate (the slowest growth rate was assumed in the SGA, the fastest in the LGA children), the heavier the body weight, the longer the length and the bigger the BMI values found. The nutritional status of the neonatal developmental sub-groups differed significantly during the studied post-natal interval: the higher the pre-natal growth rate, the better nutritional status (the larger BMI) was found after birth.
Conclusions: Neonatal development influenced strongly the post-natal nutritional status of children. The results indicate that not only age at adiposity rebound but also neonatal developmental status can be used as an indicator of later obesity.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the valuable suggestions of Professor Marie Françoise Rolland-Cachera and Professor Roland Hauspie.