Birth weight, life course factors and excess weight among schoolchildren in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2010

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between birth weight and excess weight among students aged 6–14 years, adjusted for life course confounding factors. METHODS: Cross-sectional study with 6–14-year-old schoolchildren in 2010; 795 school children from two public schools. In addition, a sub-sample was selected using a case-cohort study approach. Sociodemographic, breastfeeding, food introduction, previous weight gain, family history, current clinical and behavioral variables as well as maternal variables related to pregnancy, were collected. Multivariable weighted logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between birth weight and overweight. All prevalent cases of overweight (n = 160) were selected to compose the case group and a random sub-sample of all students participating in the study (n = 276 students, of whom 88 were cases) were the control group. RESULTS: An unadjusted 6% increase in the excess weight prevalence ratio (p-value = 0.004) was found for each 100 g increase in birth weight. With adjustment for age, sex and behavioral variables (models 1 and 2), the association of birth weight with excess weight was positive and statistically significant, but it was no longer significant in the final model (model 3) when clinical variables were considered. CONCLUSIONS: Although some of the secondary associations were statistically significant, we could not identify a significant association between birthweight and excess weight in adolescents.