[Prenatal factors associated with high BMI status of infants and toddlers].

OBJECTIVE: To explore prenatal related factors of high BMI status in children at 1 and 2 years of age.

METHOD: A total of 2 220 newborns from Shenyang, Wuhan and Guangzhou were recruited in this birth cohort, thereafter they were followed up to two years of age.Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect such variables as social-demographic characteristics and feeding practice, etc. The anthropometric measures of children were collected by trained health staff. The data were subjected to multiple logistic regression analysis to determine the related factors for high BMI among infants and toddlers.

RESULT: The number of children with high BMI status were 550 (32.80%) at one year of age and 309 (26.23%) at two, respectively. The number of boys with high BMI status were 178 and girls 309 at age two years. The prevalence of high BMI status among boys (29.1%) at age two was significantly higher than that of girls (23.1%) (χ² = 5.52, P = 0.02). Logistic regression analysis showed that after the adjustment for sex, parental educational level, family economic status and other confounding factors, maternal passive smoking during pregnancy [OR:aged one:1.38 (1.05-1.82);aged two:1.48 (1.05-2.09)], maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity [aged one:1.29 (1.05-1.58); aged two:1.35 (1.04-1.76)], paternal overweight and obesity [aged one:1.50 (1.21-1.87); aged two:1.47 (1.11-1.95)] and birth weight [aged one:1.53 (1.05-1.82); aged two:1.87 (1.33-2.63)]were identified to be associated with high BMI status in children.

CONCLUSION: Maternal passive smoking during pregnancy, paternal and maternal (pre-pregnancy) overweight or obesity and high birth weight are found to be important related factors for high BMI status in young children. Childhood overweight/obesity prevention should be considered starting as early as before pregnancy.