scholarly journals Long-Term Adverse Effects of Early Growth Acceleration or Catch-Up Growth

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atul Singhal

Background: Whilst prevention of growth faltering has both short- and long-term health benefits, whether too fast or accelerated infant growth adversely affects later health outcomes is controversial and a major focus of research. Summary: Many observational studies suggest that rapid weight gain in infancy (upward centile crossing) increases the long-term risk of obesity and non-communicable disease. This association has been seen in infants from low- and high-income countries, in infants born preterm or at term, and those born with normal or low birth weight for gestation. Experimental (randomized) studies in both breast- and formula-fed infants support a causal link between early growth acceleration and infant nutrition and later risk of obesity. These observations suggest that strategies to optimize the pattern of infant growth could make a major contribution to stemming the current global epidemic of non-communicable disease. Key Messages: The optimal pattern of infant weight gain is likely to differ in different populations. The benefits of rapid infant weight gain for later neurodevelopment favors the promotion of rapid growth in infants born preterm. However, growth acceleration in healthy infants born at term (either normal or low birth weight for gestation) is likely to have adverse effects for long-term health.

2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. L. Greenwood ◽  
L. M. Cafe ◽  
H. Hearnshaw ◽  
D. W. Hennessy ◽  
J. M. Thompson ◽  
...  

Cattle sired by Piedmontese or Wagyu bulls were bred and grown within pasture-based nutritional systems followed by feedlot finishing. Effects of low (mean 28.6 kg, n = 120) and high (38.8 kg, n = 120) birth weight followed by slow (mean 554 g/day, n = 119) or rapid (875 g/day, n = 121) growth to weaning on carcass, yield and beef quality characteristics at about 30 months of age were examined. Low birth weight calves weighed 56 kg less at 30 months of age, had 32 kg lighter carcasses, and yielded 18 kg less retail beef compared with high birth weight calves. Composition of carcasses differed little due to birth weight when adjusted to an equivalent carcass weight (380 kg). Calves grown slowly to weaning were 40 kg lighter at 30 months of age compared with those grown rapidly to weaning. They had 25 kg smaller carcasses which yielded 12 kg less retail beef than their counterparts at 30 months of age, although at an equivalent carcass weight yielded 5 kg more retail beef and had 5 kg less fat trim. Neither low birth weight nor slow growth to weaning had adverse effects on beef quality measurements. No interactions between sire-genotype and birth weight, or growth to weaning, were evident for carcass, yield and beef quality traits. Although restricted growth during fetal life or from birth to weaning resulted in smaller animals that yield less meat at about 30 months of age, adverse effects on composition due to increased fatness, or on indices of beef quality, were not evident at this age or when data were adjusted to an equivalent carcass weight.


2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xu Xiong ◽  
Joan Wightkin ◽  
Jeanette H. Magnus ◽  
Gabriella Pridjian ◽  
Juan M. Acuna ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther M. Leerkes ◽  
Cheryl Buehler ◽  
Susan D. Calkins ◽  
Lenka H. Shriver ◽  
Laurie Wideman

Abstract Background Childhood obesity remains a significant public health problem. To date, most research on the causes and correlates of obesity has focused on a small number of direct predictors of obesity rather than testing complex models that address the multifactorial nature of the origins of obesity in early development. We describe the rationale and methods of iGrow (Infant Growth and Development Study) which will test multiple pathways by which (a) prenatal maternal psychobiological risk predicts infant weight gain over the first 6 months of life, and (b) this early weight gain confers risk for obesity at age 2. Infant hormonal and psychobiological risk are proposed mediators from prenatal risk to early weight gain, though these are moderated by early maternal sensitivity and obesogenic feeding practices. In addition, higher maternal sensitivity and lower obesogenic feeding practices are proposed predictors of adaptive child self-regulation in the second year of life, and all three are proposed to buffer/reduce the association between high early infant weight gain and obesity risk at age 2. Methods iGrow is a prospective, longitudinal community-based study of 300 diverse mothers and infants to be followed across 5 data waves from pregnancy until children are age 2. Key measures include (a) maternal reports of demographics, stress, well-being, feeding practices and child characteristics and health; (b) direct observation of maternal and infant behavior during feeding, play, and distress-eliciting tasks during which infant heart rate is recorded to derive measures of vagal withdrawal; (c) anthropometric measures of mothers and infants; and (d) assays of maternal prenatal blood and infant saliva and urine. A host of demographic and other potential confounds will be considered as potential covariates in structural equation models that include tests of mediation and moderation. Efforts to mitigate the deleterious effects of COVID-19 on study success are detailed. Discussion This study has the potential to inform (1) basic science about early life processes casually related to childhood obesity and (2) development of targeted intervention and prevention approaches that consider mother, infant, and family risks and resources.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-357
Author(s):  
HELEN HARRISON

To the Editor.— The authors of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development report on neonatal care1 found "important" variations among neonatal intensive care units in philosophies of treatment, methods of treatment, and short-term outcomes. In a recent meta-analysis of follow-up studies,2 researchers document a similarly haphazard approach to the long-term evaluation of very low birth weight survivors. Until randomized controlled clinical trials validate the safety and efficacy of neonatal therapies, and until long-term outcomes are assessed accurately, the treatment of very low birth weight infants should be declared experimental.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannie Rodriguez ◽  
Marti Rice

1987 ◽  
Vol 110 (5) ◽  
pp. 753-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl F. Schulze ◽  
Mark Stefanski ◽  
Julia Masterson ◽  
Regina Spinnazola ◽  
Rajasekhar Ramakrishnan ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 280-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. M. Voegtline ◽  
K. A. Costigan ◽  
K. T. Kivlighan ◽  
J. L. Henderson ◽  
J. A. DiPietro

Associations between maternal salivary testosterone at 36 weeks’ gestation with birth weight and infant weight gain through 6 months of age were examined in a group of 49 healthy, pregnant women and their offspring. The diurnal decline of maternal testosterone was conserved in late pregnancy, and levels showed significant day-to-day stability. Elevated maternal morning testosterone level was associated with lower birth weight Z-scores adjusted for gestational age and sex, and greater infant weight gain between birth and 6 months. Although maternal testosterone levels did not differ by fetal sex, relations were sex-specific such that maternal testosterone had a significant impact on weight for male infants; among female infants associations were nonsignificant. Results highlight the opposing influence of maternal androgens during pregnancy on decreased growth in utero and accelerated postnatal weight gain.


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