Gewichtsentwicklung in den ersten 10 Lebensjahren in Tirol

Excess weight and obesity represent a health policy problem, particularly in childhood. Therefore, it is important to identify influences on weight development of children in the first years of life. Available data from the survey “Nutrition of infants and toddlers in Tyrol” from 2009 offer the opportunity for an analysis with a focus on weight development to possibly understand the mechanisms and to solidify the basis for preventive medical measures.

Data of questionnairs about the first 2 years of life and questionnaires at the age of 7–9 years are available for 209 of the 555 children originally included in the survey. The study focuses on the distribution of the body mass index (BMI) and the investigation of early events that possibly could have contributed to the development of obesity. Parental BMI, birth weight, early childhood weight gain, breastfeeding behavior and other potential influencing factors were considered.

At the age of 7–9 years 6.2% of the children (n = 13) were overweight and 2.4% (n = 5) were obese with a BMI above the 97th percentile. In 79.9% weight was normal for age (between the 10th and the 90th percentile) and low weight was found in 11.5% of the cases, of which 5.8% were below the 3rd percentile. The influence of parental BMI and the birth percentile were significant influencing factors (p < 0.001). The parental BMI accounts for 38% of the children’s current BMI. No influence on subsequent obesity development could be shown for breastfeeding, the timing of the introduction of complementary food, rapid early weight gain or maternal smoking during pregnancy in our cohort.

In the study cohort, milestones of later obesity development are set at an early stage. The lower the birth percentile, the higher the probability of being underweight at the age of 10 years. The higher the birth percentile, the greater the risk of later obesity development. Thus, interventions to prevent overweight and obesity should start prenatally. The parental influence on weight development is critical and parents must be involved in the process of treatment and prevention of childhood overweight and obesity.