Weight in the first years of life has previously been related to lung health in childhood. In a new study, ISGlobal researchers have analyzed this relationship in more detail, looking not only at the weight at a given moment, but also at the rate at which the weight increases. The research team:
- has classified the trajectories of the BMI (body mass index, which relates the weight of the person to their height) of 1,200 boys and girls from birth to four years into five categories, according to:
- the weight at birth; low, medium or high
- the speed at which BMI increases; slower or faster
- has linked increases in BMI with lung function, measured by spirometry at seven years.
The results showed that children with an accelerated increase in BMI up to four years, regardless of birth weight, had higher lung function at seven years.
According to Maribel Casas and Judith Garcia-Aymerich, researchers at ISGlobal and co-coordinators of the research, “public health interventions that promote healthy eating and physical activity in early childhood can help improve lung function and reduce respiratory morbidity through adulthood”.
Gabriela P. Peralta, Alicia Abellan, Parisa Montazeri, Mikel Basterrechea, Ana Esplugues, Sandra González-Palacios, Célina Roda, Loreto Santa-Marina, Jordi Sunyer, Martine Vrijheid, Maribel Casas, Judith Garcia-Aymerich. Early childhood growth is associated with lung function at seven years: a prospective population-based study (*shared last authorship). European Respiratory Journal. August 2020. DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00157-2020.
