BMJ Paediatrics Open (Dec 2023)

National, longitudinal NASCITA birth cohort study: prevalence of overweight at 12 months of age in children born healthy

  • Antonio Clavenna,
  • Massimo Cartabia,
  • Maurizio Bonati,
  • Federico Marchetti,
  • Giorgio Tamburlini,
  • Antonio Addis,
  • Michele Valente,
  • Rita Campi,
  • Stefania Manetti,
  • Valeria Carraro,
  • Sergio Conti Nibali,
  • Renato Sansone,
  • Patrizia Rogari,
  • Annalisa Campomori,
  • Luca De Fiore,
  • Renata Bortolus,
  • Sergio Cattani,
  • Cristiana Piloni,
  • Valeria Renzetti,
  • Rosario Cavallo,
  • Gherardo Rapisardi,
  • Giacomo Toffol,
  • Vicenza Briscioli,
  • Carla Cafaro,
  • Cristoforo Cocchiara,
  • Isodiana Crupi,
  • Patrizia Del Balzo,
  • Laura Dell’edera,
  • Chiara Di Francesco,
  • Alberto Ferrando,
  • Francesca Grassa,
  • Chiara Guidoni,
  • Claudio Mangialavori,
  • Stefano Marinoni,
  • Francesca Marongiu,
  • Fausta Matera,
  • Paolo Moretti,
  • Laura Olimpi,
  • Angela Pasinato,
  • Ilaria Porro,
  • Ippolita Roncoroni,
  • Raffaella Schiro’,
  • Patrizia Seppia,
  • Federica Zanetto,
  • Anna Aloisio,
  • Elisabetta Anedda,
  • Giuliana Apuzzo,
  • Giovanna Argo,
  • Anna Armenio,
  • Emanuela Ballerini,
  • Monica Benedetti,
  • Daniela Bertoli,
  • Stefano Bollettini,
  • Chiara Bottalico,
  • Aurora Bottiglieri,
  • Vincenza Briscioli,
  • Antonella Bruno,
  • Laura Brusadin,
  • Mariantonietta Caiazzo,
  • Patrizia Calamita,
  • Miriana Callegari,
  • Rosaria Cambria,
  • Maria Cristina Cantù,
  • Domenico Capomolla,
  • Anna Caracciolo,
  • Maria Concetta Carbone,
  • Gaetano Carrassi,
  • Maria Laura Cartiglia,
  • Sara Casagranda,
  • Ornella Castiglione,
  • Rosario Salvatore Cavallo,
  • Teresa Cazzato,
  • Maria Angela Cazzuffi,
  • Jennifer Chiarolanza,
  • Rosaria China,
  • Nicoletta Cimadamore,
  • Roberto Cionini,
  • Cristina Ciuffo,
  • Damiano Colazzo,
  • Anna Maria Costantini,
  • Claudio Cravidi,
  • Marialuisa Criscione,
  • Rita D’Agostino,
  • Daniela Danieli,
  • Luigi De Carlo,
  • Marina De Sanctis,
  • Giuseppina De Santes,
  • Gian Piero Del Bono,
  • Maria Elisabetta Di Pietro,
  • Maria Chiara Dini,
  • Paolo Fiammengo,
  • Micaela Foco,
  • Maria Teresa Fonte,
  • Maria Frigeri,
  • Andrea Galvagno,
  • Matteo Gaudino,
  • Stefania Genoni,
  • Silvia Girotto,
  • Gianluca Gornati,
  • Marta Gozzi,
  • Enrica Heritier,
  • Antonella Lavagetto,
  • Raffaele Limauro,
  • Alessandra Magnelli,
  • Maria Gabriella Maiolino,
  • Monica Malventano,
  • Silvia Marchi,
  • Natale Maresca,
  • Federico Marolla,
  • Agata Martinelli,
  • Chiara Martinez,
  • Nicoletta Mascarello,
  • Carla Matiotti,
  • Elisabetta Mazzucchi,
  • Donatella Moggia,
  • Manuela Musetti,
  • Paolo Nardini,
  • Alberto Neri,
  • Patrizia Neri,
  • Flavia Nicoloso,
  • Laura Maria Olimpi,
  • Giancarlo Ottonello,
  • Giacinta Padula,
  • Paolo Maria Paganuzzi,
  • Rosanna Palazzi,
  • Alessandra Palmero,
  • Maria Chiara Parisini,
  • Giovannina Pastorelli,
  • Marilena Pavoni,
  • Lucia Peccarisi,
  • Antonella Pellacani,
  • Cristina Perrera,
  • Michela Picciotti,
  • Ivo Picotto,
  • Tiziana Piunti,
  • Francesca Preziosi,
  • Giuseppe Primavera,
  • Miriam Prodi,
  • Maria Letizia Rabbone,
  • Innocenza Rafele,
  • Laura Reali,
  • Franziska Stefanie Rempp,
  • Ada Riundi,
  • Paolo Rosas,
  • Annarita Russo,
  • Mariagrazia Saccà,
  • Elisabetta Sala,
  • Francesca Sala,
  • Francesca Santus,
  • Vittoria Sarno,
  • Alessandra Savino,
  • Raffaella Schirò,
  • Giuseppa Scornavacca,
  • Maria Francesca Siracusano,
  • Adelisa Spalla,
  • Gloria Sturaro,
  • Maria Grazia Toma,
  • Ettore Tomagra,
  • Maria Tortorella,
  • Fausta Trentadue,
  • Marina Trevisan,
  • Silvia Tulisso,
  • Roberta Usella,
  • Anna Valente,
  • Mariangela Valera,
  • Edda Vernile,
  • Valeria Vicario,
  • Lucia Vignutelli,
  • Paolo Vinci,
  • Lucia Vizziello,
  • Rosette Zand,
  • Marco Zanette,
  • Graziano Zucchi,
  • Maria Luisa Zuccolo,
  • Eleonora Morabito,
  • Chiara Liz Pandolfini,
  • Chiara Segre’,
  • Rossella Claudia Cannavo’,
  • Melania Maria Cera,
  • Emma Maria Giugnini,
  • Giovanni Giuliano Semprini

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2022-001622
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1

Abstract

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Objective To estimate the prevalence of overweight at 12 months in an Italian birth cohort and to identify factors related to an increased likelihood of being overweight.Methods The Italian NASCITA birth cohort was analysed. Infants were classified as underweight (<5th), normal weight (5–84th) and overweight (≥85th centile) at 12 months of age according to the WHO percentiles of body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight was estimated. To test the association between the chance of being overweight and parental and newborn characteristics, and infant feeding, healthy newborns (no preterm/low birth weight and with no malformations), with appropriate-for-gestational-age birth weight were selected, and univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.Results The prevalence of overweight was 23.5% (95% CI 22.2% to 24.8%) in all cohort members with 12-month data (N=4270), and 23.1% in the appropriate-for-gestational age subsample (N=2835).A big infant appetite (OR 3.92, 95% CI 2.40 to 6.40) and living in southern Italy (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.29 to 1.94) were the main variables associated with a greater likelihood of being overweight. Breastfeeding practice did not influence the chance of being overweight, but was associated with an increase (exclusive breast feeding for at least 6 months) or a decrease (breast feeding for at least 12 months) in BMI z score at 12 months.Conclusions The sociodemographic factors (eg, area of residence, maternal employment status) seem to be the most relevant determinants influencing the chance of being overweight at 12 months. Early interventions, with particular attention to vulnerable families, may be helpful in preventing childhood and adult obesity.