Parental, fetal, and infant risk factors for preschool overweight: the Generation R Study

BACKGROUND: Overweight has its origins largely in early life. We aimed to identify the most important parental, fetal, and infant risk factors of preschool overweight. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study, among 3,610 Caucasian preschool children, we assessed the associations of 34 putative parental, fetal; and infant factors with overweight risk. RESULTS: Higher maternal BMI, paternal BMI, and birth weight were associated with higher risk of preschool overweight (odds ratio (OR): 1.23,95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10, 1.39; OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.19,.1.53; and OR: 2.71, 95% CI: 2.27, 3.25, respectively, per SD increase). The same model identified low household income (OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.24, 2.45), being female (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.20, 2.01), and experiencing third-trimester accelerated growth (OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.24, 2.40) or postnatal accelerated growth (OR: 6.39, 95% CI: 4.54, 8.99) as risk factors for preschool overweight. Higher polyunsaturated fat intake at 14 mo was associated with a lower risk of preschool overweight (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.96 per SD). CONCLUSION: Parental anthropometrics and household income, fetal and infant accelerated growth, and infant dietary fat intake are the major risk factors for the development of preschool overweight. Further studies need to explore whether these risk factors could be potential targets for preventive interventions.