American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 66, 1094-1101, Copyright © 1997 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Body mass index and height from childhood to adulthood in the 1958 British born cohort

C Power, JK Lake and TJ Cole
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom.

The purpose of this study was to assess relations among height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) at different ages from childhood to adulthood, and to examine long-term relations among timing of puberty, height, and BMI. Longitudinal data from the 1958 British birth cohort (all children born between March 3rd and 9th, 1958) were used. Height and weight were measured at ages 7, 11, 16, 23 (self-reported), and 33 y; pubertal status was assessed at ages 11 and 16 y. Data for 5700 females and 5512 males were analyzed. Adult height was well predicted from childhood, with strong correlations (r = 0.7 for both sexes) between height at ages 7 and 33 y. Correlations for BMI were weaker, especially between childhood and early adulthood (r = 0.33 for males and 0.37 for females, ages 7 and 33 y), although they increased with increasing age. Although the fattest children had the highest risks of adult obesity, most obese adults had not been fat at earlier ages: only 17% and 18% of obese 33-y-old men and women, respectively, had been fat at age 7 y. A strong and evenly graded association was found between timing of puberty and BMI, with higher mean BMIs for the earlier maturers at ages 7-33 y. The moderate prediction of adult BMI in this large and unselected sample suggests that although the prevention of childhood fatness may be desirable, most obese adults could not be identified from their childhood BMI, and hence, preventive strategies need to be population-based.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				R. R Kipping, R. Jago, and D. A Lawlor Obesity in children. Part 1: Epidemiology, measurement, risk factors, and screening BMJ, October 15, 2008; 337(oct15_3): a1824 - a1824. [Full Text]

				R. Balakrishnan, P. Webster, and D. Sinclair Trends in overweight and obesity among 5-7-year-old White and South Asian children born between 1991 and 1999 J. Public Health Med., June 1, 2008; 30(2): 139 - 144. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Baker, L. W. Olsen, and T. I.A. Sorensen Childhood Body-Mass Index and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Adulthood N. Engl. J. Med., December 6, 2007; 357(23): 2329 - 2337. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Power, L. Li, and C. Hertzman Associations of Early Growth and Adult Adiposity with Patterns of Salivary Cortisol in Adulthood J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab., November 1, 2006; 91(11): 4264 - 4270. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A Lawlor and N. Chaturvedi Treatment and prevention of obesity--are there critical periods for intervention? Int. J. Epidemiol., February 1, 2006; 35(1): 3 - 9. [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. P. Gigante, B. L. Horta, R. C. Lima, F. C. Barros, and C. G. Victora Early Life Factors Are Determinants of Female Height at Age 19 Years in a Population-Based Birth Cohort (Pelotas, Brazil) J. Nutr., February 1, 2006; 136(2): 473 - 478. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Power and J. Elliott Cohort profile: 1958 British birth cohort (National Child Development Study) Int. J. Epidemiol., February 1, 2006; 35(1): 34 - 41. [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. J Parsons, O. Manor, and C. Power Physical activity and change in body mass index from adolescence to mid-adulthood in the 1958 British cohort Int. J. Epidemiol., February 1, 2006; 35(1): 197 - 204. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. B Pierce and D. A Leon Age at menarche and adult BMI in the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s Cohort Study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, October 1, 2005; 82(4): 733 - 739. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Must, E. N. Naumova, S. M. Phillips, M. Blum, B. Dawson-Hughes, and W. M. Rand Childhood Overweight and Maturational Timing in the Development of Adult Overweight and Fatness: The Newton Girls Study and Its Follow-up Pediatrics, September 1, 2005; 116(3): 620 - 627. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. P. Whitlock, S. B. Williams, R. Gold, P. R. Smith, and S. A. Shipman Screening and Interventions for Childhood Overweight: A Summary of Evidence for the US Preventive Services Task Force Pediatrics, July 1, 2005; 116(1): e125 - e144. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. A. Stefan, W. M. Hopman, and J. F. Smythe Effect of Activity Restriction Owing to Heart Disease on Obesity Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, May 1, 2005; 159(5): 477 - 481. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. S. Freedman, L. K. Khan, M. K. Serdula, W. H. Dietz, S. R. Srinivasan, and G. S. Berenson The Relation of Childhood BMI to Adult Adiposity: The Bogalusa Heart Study Pediatrics, January 1, 2005; 115(1): 22 - 27. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Li and C. Power Influences on childhood height: comparing two generations in the 1958 British birth cohort Int. J. Epidemiol., December 1, 2004; 33(6): 1320 - 1328. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Ahlgren, M. Melbye, J. Wohlfahrt, and T. I. A. Sorensen Growth Patterns and the Risk of Breast Cancer in Women N. Engl. J. Med., October 14, 2004; 351(16): 1619 - 1626. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. W Demerath, J. Li, S. S Sun, W C. Chumlea, K. E Remsberg, S. A Czerwinski, B. Towne, and R. M Siervogel Fifty-year trends in serial body mass index during adolescence in girls: the Fels Longitudinal Study Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, August 1, 2004; 80(2): 441 - 446. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Li, O. Manor, and C. Power Early environment and child-to-adult growth trajectories in the 1958 British birth cohort Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, July 1, 2004; 80(1): 185 - 192. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Warren, C. J. K. Henry, H. J. Lightowler, S. M. Bradshaw, and S. Perwaiz Evaluation of a pilot school programme aimed at the prevention of obesity in children Health Promot. Int., December 1, 2003; 18(4): 287 - 296. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J W T Dickerson Some aspects of the public health importance of measurement of growth The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, September 1, 2003; 123(3): 165 - 168. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T J Parsons, C Power, and O Manor Infant feeding and obesity through the lifecourse Arch. Dis. Child., September 1, 2003; 88(9): 793 - 794. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Wadsworth, R. Hardy, A. Paul, S. Marshall, and T. Cole Leg and trunk length at 43 years in relation to childhood health, diet and family circumstances; evidence from the 1946 national birth cohort Int. J. Epidemiol., April 1, 2002; 31(2): 383 - 390. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Laitinen, C. Power, and M.-R. Jarvelin Family social class, maternal body mass index, childhood body mass index, and age at menarche as predictors of adult obesity Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, September 1, 2001; 74(3): 287 - 294. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				D. S. Freedman, L. K. Khan, W. H Dietz, S. R. Srinivasan, and G. S. Berenson Relationship of Childhood Obesity to Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors in Adulthood: The Bogalusa Heart Study Pediatrics, September 1, 2001; 108(3): 712 - 718. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. S Lindsay, R. L Hanson, and W. C Knowler Tracking of body mass index from childhood to adolescence: a 6-y follow-up study in China Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, July 1, 2001; 74(1): 149 - 149. [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. Manor, S. Matthews, and C. Power Self-rated health and limiting longstanding illness: inter-relationships with morbidity in early adulthood Int. J. Epidemiol., June 1, 2001; 30(3): 600 - 607. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Bundred, D. Kitchiner, and I. Buchan Prevalence of overweight and obese children between 1989 and 1998: population based series of cross sectional studies BMJ, February 10, 2001; 322(7282): 326 - 326. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				S. Kinra, R. P Nelder, and G. J Lewendon Deprivation and childhood obesity: a cross sectional study of 20 973 children in Plymouth, United Kingdom J Epidemiol Community Health, June 1, 2000; 54(6): 456 - 460. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J Mulligan and L D Voss Identifying very fat and very thin children: test of criterion standards for screening test BMJ, October 23, 1999; 319(7217): 1103 - 1104. [Full Text]

				P. T Katzmarzyk, L. Perusse, R. M Malina, and C. Bouchard Seven-year stability of indicators of obesity and adipose tissue distribution in the Canadian population Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, June 1, 1999; 69(6): 1123 - 1129. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Story, M. Evans, R. R Fabsitz, T. E Clay, B. H. Rock, and B. Broussard The epidemic of obesity in American Indian communities and the need for childhood obesity-prevention programs Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, April 1, 1999; 69 (4): 747S - 754S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]