142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Infant weight gain in week 1 and BMI at age 2: A prospective cohort study in an urban US population

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Anne Merewood, PhD, MPH, IBCLC , Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Laura Burnham, MPH , Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Ning Chen, MS , Department of Pediatrics, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA
Marc Torjman, PhD , Dept. of Anesthesiology, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, Camden, NJ
Xena Grossman, MS, RD , Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Stephanie Matlak, MFA, MSW , Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA
Lori B. Feldman-Winter, MD, MPH , Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Regional Hospital at Cooper-CMSRU, Camden, NJ
Background: Rate of infant weight gain in the newborn period predicts BMI later in life. Exclusive breastfeeding is associated with decreased obesity.

Goals: Determine if weight change in week 1 was associated with BMI >85th percentile at 2 years and whether feeding method was associated with change in weight during week 1.

Methods: We enrolled newborns into a prospective cohort study at an urban, Boston hospital from 2008-2012.  All feeds were recorded during infants’ first week of life and infants were weighed and measured at birth, 7 days, and 2 years. Statistical analyses were conducted using Mann-Whitney U tests.

 Results: Of the 450 infants enrolled, 306 remained in the study for 2 years. Infant change in weight in week 1 was predictive of BMI at age 2. Infants who gained more weight in week 1 were more likely to have a BMI >85th percentile at age 2 (p=0.008); normal weight 2-year-olds had a median weight gain of 39 grams during week 1 vs. 87 grams for overweight 2-year-olds.  Infants exclusively breastfed for the first week of life gained less weight than infants receiving any formula (p<0.001). Exclusively breastfed infants had a mean weight loss of 5 grams and mixed/formula fed infants had a mean gain of 59 grams at 1 week.

Conclusion: Infants gaining more weight in week 1 were more likely to have a BMI >85th percentile at age 2. Exclusively breastfed infants gained less weight in week 1 than infants who were not, demonstrating a normative weight pattern.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Public health biology

Learning Objectives:
Describe the relationship between weight change during the first week of life and BMI at 2 years of age. Compare the nature of weight change during the first week of life for exclusively breastfed infants and mixed/formula fed infants.

Keyword(s): Obesity, Breastfeeding

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the PI on this project and conducted the study.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2035.0: Poster Session: Infant & Child Health