A new study from the University’s Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit adds to a growing body of evidence that links a child’s early environment before and soon after birth to their chance of becoming obese later in life.
Previous studies have identified a number of individual early life ‘risk factors’ but few have evaluated the size of their combined effects. The new research suggests that having a greater number of these risk factors is a strong predictor of being overweight or obese in childhood.
Southampton researchers looked at five early life obesity risk factors: a short duration of breastfeeding (less than one month) and four maternal factors during pregnancy – obesity, excess pregnancy weight gain, smoking, and low vitamin D status.
The research shows at age four, children with four or five of these factors were 3.99 times more likely to be overweight or obese than children who had experienced none, and fat mass was, on average, 19 per cent higher.
Professor Sian Robinson, who led the study, says: “Early life may be a ‘critical period’ when appetite and regulation of energy balance are programmed, which has lifelong consequences for the risk of gaining excess weight.
You can find more information about the research on the University website.