Background: A few studies reported an association between body weight during early childhood and body composition in later life, as measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); however, none of those studies investigated an East Asian population. In a Japanese population, we examined the association between body weight at age 3 years and body composition at age 11 years, as measured using DXA.
Methods: The source population was 726 fifth-grade school children enrolled at 3 public schools in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan from 2008-2010. All children who lived in the study area went to 1 of these 3 schools. DXA was used to obtain data on body composition, and the Maternal and Child Health Handbook was used to calculate body mass index (BMI). The general linear model was used for statistical analysis.
Results: We were able to analyze data on body composition at age 11 years and BMI in early childhood for 550 children. BMI at age 3 and change in BMI z-score from birth to age 3 were positively associated with bone mineral content (BMC), fat-free soft tissue mass (FFSTM), and fat mass (FM) at age 11. After adjusting for confounding factors, mean BMC, FFSTM, and FM were significantly lower among children who were underweight at age 3 and significantly higher among children who were overweight at age 3, as compared with values for normal-weight children at age 3.
Conclusions: Among Japanese children, body weight at age 3 years predicts body composition at age 11 years.
【背景】: 東アジアの集団において、幼児期の体格とその後の体組成の関連についての詳細な研究はない。今回は日本人集団における3歳時の体格と11歳時の体組成の関連について、二重エネルギーエックス線吸収法（DXA法）を用いて検討した。
【方法】: 調査対象集団は2008年から2010年に静岡県下の3つの公立小学校に在籍した726名の児童である。体組成はDXA法で測定し、幼児期の体格（BMI）は母子健康手帳から入手した。統計解析には一般線形モデルを用いた。
【結果】: 調査対象集団のうち550名から体組成と幼児期の体格のデータを得た。3歳時のBMIは11歳時の全身骨塩量（BMC）、全身除脂肪軟部組織量（FFSTM）、全身脂肪量（FM）と正の関連を示した。出生から3歳のBMI z-scoreの変化も11歳時のBMC、FFSTM、FMと正の関連を示した。交絡因子調整後の11歳時のBMC、FFSTM、FMの平均値は、共に3歳時に低体重であった者が正常体重よりも低く、3歳時に過体重であった者は正常体重よりも高かった。
【結論】: 3歳時の体格はその後の体組成を予測した。