Childhood underweight, weight gain during childhood to adolescence/young adulthood and incidence of adult metabolic syndrome in the SUN (Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra) Project

Abstract

Objective: To assess associations between childhood body weight, weight gain during childhood to adolescence/young adulthood and incidence of adult metabolic syndrome (MetS).Design: A dynamic prospective cohort study (the SUN Project; Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra). Participants were asked to select which of nine body images most closely represented their body shape at ages 5 and 20 years, and it was used as a proxy of BMI. An incident case of MetS was diagnosed according to criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. Associations between childhood body weight, weight gain during childhood to adolescence/young adulthood and incidence of adult MetS were estimated by multiple-adjusted odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals.Setting: University of Navarra, Spain.Subjects: The study included 5317 university graduates, followed-up for a median of 6.1 years.Results: The incidence of MetS was 2.9% (1.7% in women and 5.1% in men). Among men, body shape at age 5 years was inversely related to adult MetS (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.72, 0.97), whereas weight gain during childhood to adolescence/young adulthood was directly associated with adult MetS (OR = 1.49, 95% CI 1.01, 2.18); both childhood underweight (OR = 5.20, 95% CI 1.87, 14.50) and childhood obesity (OR = 4.66, 95% CI 1.40, 15.51) increased the likelihood of adult MetS. No association was apparent among women.Conclusions: These results support treating childhood underweight and weight gain during childhood to adolescence/young adulthood as part of comprehensive adult MetS prevention efforts in men.