Do overweight children become overweight adults? A study of Japanese girls and women
Author Information
Author(s): Funatogawa Ikuko, Funatogawa Takashi, Yano Eiji
Primary Institution: Teikyo University School of Medicine
Hypothesis
Does being overweight in childhood lead to being overweight in adulthood?
Conclusion
An overweight birth cohort in childhood does not necessarily continue to be overweight in young adulthood.
Supporting Evidence
- Body mass index decreased in preschool children but increased in older children and adolescents.
- More recent cohorts were more overweight as children but thinner as young women.
- The study highlights the importance of monitoring growth curves by birth cohort.
Takeaway
Just because kids are overweight doesn't mean they'll stay that way when they grow up. Some kids get thinner as they become adults.
Methodology
The study used repeated cross-sectional annual surveys from the national nutrition survey in Japan, covering females aged 1-25 from 1948 to 2005.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to reliance on population averages rather than individual longitudinal data.
Limitations
The study is limited to females and does not account for individual variability in growth patterns.
Participant Demographics
76,635 females aged 1 to 25 years from various birth cohorts between 1930 and 1999.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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