Analysis of BMI of Preschool Children —Results of Longitudinal Studies

摘要

Exceeding weight gain in childhood is a prevailing issue in industrialised coun-tries, such as in Germany. The aim of this study was to detect a critical age for exceedingweight gain. It is assumed that especially in the early years of life, the years of nursery schoolage, the individual development of weight is fundamental for the prediction of obesity. Thedata of 638 children (324 boys and 314 girls) and the data of additional 1390 children of apreceding longitudinal study were analysed. The results show that overweight newborns arenot at higher risk of becoming overweight children later, in the first place. But the resultsidentify a high risk of becoming overweight for children 4.5 years old through a BMIrebound. In addition, this comparably earlier BMI rebound is linked with an increasing per-centage of body fat. This leads to the assumption, that a comparably early BMI rebound isremarkably atypical for healthy child development. The results are also interrelated with thetest person's sex. Endangered girls are of pyknomorphic body type. In contrast, the boys'results are independent of the body type. Obesity of boys therefore is strongly assumed to becaused by environmental factors.