Abstract

MACIAS GELABERT, Alina; HERNANDEZ TRIANA, Manuel; ARIOSA ABREU, José  and  ALEGRET RODRIGUEZ, Milagros. Obesity-associated prenatal and postnatal growth in school-aged children. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2007, vol.26, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3011.

A retrospective observational and analytical case-control study was conducted in 86 obese school children aged 6 to 11 years and in 86 normoweighted children selected as controls, who live in the same area, were born from mother with similar gestational age of 37 to 42 weeks, homogeneous in age and sex and without history of health problems. The objective was to identify the possible association of early postnatal factors and those related to intrauterine life in prevalence of obesity in later life. The results showed a strong association between obesity at this age and weight gain in the first four months of life, low birthweight, low ponderal index, reduced supine length and head circumference at the time of birth and smoking, poor weight gain and low mass body index of the mother during pregnancy. Obesity at school age was heavily associated to accelerated growth of those school children during their first months of life and to inadequate fetal growth. In childhood obesity prevention programs, these factors must be taken into consideration. The prevention of accelerated weight gain during first months of life in children who were born with fetal growth problems acquire special importance.

Keywords : Obesity; school children; low birthweight; weight gain in pregnancy; smoking; accelerated postnatal growth; chromic diseases.

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