https://www.mdu.se/

Background and aims: The impact of vitamin D concentrations on subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and overall mortality has been generally examined for periods under two decades. The magnitude of the association may depend on follow-up length. We aimed to investigate the relationship between baseline vitamin D and risk of total CVD, stroke and all-cause mortality over three decades of follow-up. Secondly, we aimed to assess how follow-up affects the associations. Methods and results: Concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25D) were measured in a population-based sample of 1227 middle-aged women using serum collected at baseline and categorized into low (lowest 25D quartile) vs high 25D status (upper three 25D quartiles). Hazard ratio (HR) of the endpoints was estimated for low 25D. The impact of follow-up was examined in intermediary analyses where follow-up was interrupted up to four times, each time decreasing it by five years. There were 596 cardiovascular events and 635 participants died. During the first 17 years, the low 25D group experienced a 29% higher CVD risk and 3.3-fold higher stroke risk after accounting for confounders. Longer follow-up diminished significantly these risks and 25D status had no contribution at 32 years. For mortality, the decline over time was less dramatic, with HR = 1.96 (1.25; 3.08) at 17 years and HR = 1.42 (1.17; 1.72) at 37 years. Conclusion: Low 25D status increased the risk for all endpoints, but a lengthy follow-up diminished these risks towards the null. The impact of follow-up depends on the outcome. Future studies of 25D and disease should use repeated 25D assessments.

Physically demanding work in middle-aged and ageing employees is associated with poor physical functioning. Also younger employees have limitations in their daily functioning, but there is no research on the associations between physically demanding work and physical functioning during early careers. This study investigated whether physically demanding work is associated with physical functioning in employees aged 18–39 years.  The data were collected in autumn 2017 from the City of Helsinki employees born in or after 1978 (n=11,459). Out of them, 5,111 responded online or via a mailed paper survey. We included those 4,585 (40% of all those invited) who had responded to all necessary questions for the present study. Physical functioning was assessed by the SF-36 questionnaire, and poor physical functioning was defined as the lowest quarter of the physical functioning score (PCS ≤48.80, total scale 1-100). Physical workload was determined with a multi-part question about factors related to work and the work environment, and the degree of perceived harm caused by them. The physical workload scores were divided into thirds. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the associations between physically demanding work and physical functioning, while adjusting for health behaviours, sleep problems, body mass index, education and marital status.  Poor physical functioning was associated with physically moderately (OR 1.70, 95%CI 1.43-2.00) and highly (OR 3.56 [2.70-4.70]) demanding work. In addition, frequent sleep problems (OR 1.90 [1.67-2.22]), obesity (OR 1.89 [1.56-2.30]) and low education (OR 1.37 [1.10-1.71]) were associated with poor physical functioning.  Tackling physically demanding work may play a role in maintaining physical functioning (and subsequently) working capacity.

Keywords: physical functioning, work load, young workers, health behaviour

Background: The aim of the study was to examine the construct validity of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18 (TFEQ-R18), a measure of eating behaviour, and to evaluate cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in a sample of adolescent and young adult females of different weights. Methods: Subjects were 2 997 females, aged 17 to 20 years, who participated in a phase III human papillomavirus vaccination trial in Finland in 2004-2009. Self-administered questionnaires and weight and height measurements were used. The factor structure of the TFEQ-R18 was verified by factor analysis. Connections between measured eating behaviour and Body Mass Index (BMI) were tested using analysis of variance. Results: The original factor structure of the TFEQ-R18 was replicated: six of the eighteen items measured cognitive restraint, nine measured uncontrolled eating, and three measured emotional eating. On average, higher BMI was associated with higher levels of cognitive restraint (p < 0.001) and emotional eating (p < 0.001), but not with uncontrolled eating. Conclusion: Structural validity of the TFEQ-R18 was good in this sample of young Finnish females with a varying range of body weights. Use of the instrument as a measure of eating behaviour was thus corroborated. Connections of restrained and emotional eating with BMI were in accordance with previous findings from young females.

Objective: This study set out to examine how maternal initial body mass index (BMI) and weight gain during pregnancy associate with advanced beta cell autoimmunity in the offspring. Subjects: A population-based birth cohort of 4093 children with increased human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-conferred susceptibility to type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their mothers were recruited between 1997 and 2002 in two university hospital regions in Finland. Methods: The children were monitored for T1D-associated autoantibodies at 3- to 12-month intervals. Advanced beta cell autoimmunity was defined as repeated positivity for islet cell antibodies and at least one of the other three autoantibodies (antibodies to insulin, glutamate decarboxylase and islet antigen 2). Mothers were asked to record the results of the weight measurements during their first and last visits to the antenatal clinic. The initial BMI and weight gain rate were calculated for each woman. Results: Altogether, 175 children developed advanced beta cell autoimmunity or T1D during the follow-up. Maternal BMI before pregnancy or weight gain during pregnancy was not associated with the end-point. Maternal vocational education was associated with child's smaller risk of developing advanced beta cell autoimmunity.

AbstractBackground Adolescent mental health problems are on the rise globally, including in Sweden. One indicator of this trend is increased psychosomatic symptoms (PSS) over time. Lifestyle factors such as physical activity (PA), diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption may influence the time trends in PSS; however, the evidence base is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between time trends in PSS and lifestyle factors. Methods The study was based on data collected from a nationally representative sample of 9,196 fifteen-year-old boys and girls in Sweden using the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) symptom checklist. The sample comprised nearly equal proportions of girls (50.5%) and boys. The lifestyle factors examined in this study included PA, regular breakfast intake, consumption of fruits, vegetables, sweets, or soft drinks, smoking, and alcohol drunkenness. We used data from 2002 to 2018 and stratified by family affluence scale (FAS) to demonstrate how the associations varied among the FAS groups. We fitted separate regression models for the high- and low-FAS groups, where interaction terms between the year of the survey and each lifestyle factor were used to estimate the level and direction of associations between the factors and trends in PSS. Results There was a generally increasing trend in PSS mean scores from 2.26 in 2002 to 2.49 in 2018 (p<.001). The changes in each survey year compared to the average mean scores during the preceding years were significant in all years except 2010. Regular breakfast intake, daily fruit and vegetable consumption, and higher PA were associated with lower PSS mean scores, while smoking and drunkenness had opposite associations with PSS. The only significant interaction between the survey year and the lifestyle factors was observed regarding drunkenness in the high FAS group, suggesting that the association between trends in PSS and the experience of getting drunk at least twice got stronger over time (B=0.057; CI:0.016, 0.097; p<.01).Conclusions The results indicate increasing trends in PSS among young people in Sweden from 2002 to 2018, with a significant increase observed among adolescents in the high FAS group who reported getting drunk on at least two occasions. 

Background:

Adolescent mental health problems are on the rise globally, including in Sweden. One indicator is an increase in psychosomatic symptoms (PSS) over time. Lifestyle factors such as physical activity (PA), diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption may influence the trends in PSS. However, we found limited research on such associations.

Methods:

This study is based on data collected every four years from nationally representative samples of 15-year-old boys and girls in Sweden (N = 9,196, 50.5% girls), as part of the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. PSS was measured using a scale developed from the HBSC symptom checklist. We analyzed the trends in PSS from 2002 to 2018 and fitted models to investigate the associations between the trends and lifestyle factors. We included interaction terms between time and each lifestyle factor and fitted separate models for the high and low socioeconomic status (SES) groups.

Results

In general, the mean scores for PSS increased from 2.26 in 2002 to 2.49 in 2018 (p<.001). Compared to the average mean scores during preceding years, the changes in PSS mean scores at each survey year were also significant in all years except 2010. More frequent breakfast intake, daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, and higher PA were associated with lower PSS mean scores while smoking and alcohol consumption had the opposite association. The only significant interaction (B = .050; CI: .015, ¬ .085; p<.01) was observed in the high SES group, indicating that the increasing trend in PSS was stronger among those who had been drunk once or more in a lifetime, compared to those who had never been drunk.

Conclusions

The results indicate increasing trends in mental health problems among young people in Sweden. Furthermore, the study revealed that alcohol drunkenness was associated with a more substantial rise in PSS over time among those in the high SES group. Further research is needed to understand the reasons behind these findings.

Objective

The study aims to assess changes in HIV treatment outcomes for Jamaica after the implementation of the WHO Treat All strategy in January 2017, as well as identify variables associated with clinical stage at diagnosis and viral load status, in order to understand implications for enhancing the HIV clinical cascade and boosting progress towards the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets.

Method

This is a population-based study using the National Treatment Service Information System. The sample consists of persons 15 years and older, placed on treatment before and after Treat All was implemented, across all 4 regional health authorities in Jamaica. Patients were assessed for two binary outcomes: 1. stage at HIV diagnosis (early/baseline CD4 cell count ≧350 cells/mm3, or late/ baseline CD4 <350 cells/mm3), 2. viral load status achieved after ART initiation (suppressed/<1000 copies/ml or non-suppressed/ ≥1000 copies/ml). Categorical variables: age/years, gender and health regions, were investigated using multivariable logistic regression. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals are reported.

Results

After Treat All, there was an increase in median baseline CD4 results as the proportion of late diagnoses decreased from 60% to 39%. There was a small increase in viral suppression from 76% to 80%, a decrease in baseline viral load testing from 61% to 46% and an increase in the uptake of first viral load testing after starting treatment from 13% to 19%. Males and persons 40+ years had higher odds of late diagnosis before and after Treat All.

Conclusion

Jamaica’s HIV program outcomes have improved after Treat All was implemented. ART initiation time significantly decreased. Early diagnosis, viral load testing uptake and viral suppression increased. However, there is a need to implement targeted testing for men and persons over 40 years to decrease the frequency of late diagnosis.

BackgroundMaternal diet during pregnancy may contribute to the risk of offspring adiposity. ObjectivesThe objective of the study is to explore the associations between maternal antenatal dietary fatty acid intake and the risk of offspring overweight and obesity at the ages of 2 to 7years. MethodsIn a prospective Finnish birth cohort with 3807 mother-child pairs, maternal diet in late pregnancy was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Intakes of total fatty acids and individual saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were calculated. Generalized estimating equation models were used to study the associations of maternal dietary variables with repeatedly measured offspring overweight and obesity. ResultsIn girls, maternal intake ratio of n-6:n-3 PUFAs had a U-shaped association with obesity (adjusted OR for the lowest 2.0 [95% CI 1.27-3.20] and the highest 1.7 [1.03-2.73] vs. the two middle quartiles of n-6:n-3 PUFAs, p=0.01). In boys, arachidonic acid (20:4n-6): docosahexaenoic acid+eicosapentaenoic acid ratio was associated with obesity (adjusted OR for the lowest 1.0 [0.60-1.57] and the highest 0.5 [0.26-0.88] vs. the two middle quartiles, p=0.02). Saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids were not associated with overweight or obesity in either sex. ConclusionsMaternal intakes of PUFAs in late pregnancy were associated with risk of later obesity differently in girls and boys.

Background: The negative impact of childhood overweight on psychosocial well-being has been demonstrated in a number of studies. There is also evidence that psychosocial well-being may influence future overweight. We examined the bidirectional association between childhood overweight and psychosocial well-being in children from a large European cohort. The dual aim was to investigate the chronology of associations between overweight and psychosocial health indicators and the extent to which these associations may be explained by parental education. Methods: Participants from the IDEFICS study were recruited from eight countries between September 2007 and June 2008 when the children were aged 2 to 9.9 years old. Children and families provided data on lifestyle, psychosocial well-being, and measured anthropometry at baseline and at follow-up 2 years later. This study includes children with weight, height, and psychosocial well-being measurements at both time points (n = 7,831). Psychosocial well-being was measured by the KINDL (R) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire respectively. The first instrument measures health-related quality of life including emotional well-being, self-esteem, parent relations and social relations while the second measures well-being based on emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer-related problems. Logistic regression was used for modeling longitudinal associations. Results: Children who were overweight at baseline had increased risk of poor health-related quality of life (odds ratio (OR) = 1.23; 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.03-1.48) measured 2 years later; this association was unidirectional. In contrast to health-related quality of life, poor well-being at baseline was associated with increased risk of overweight (OR = 1.39; 95 % CI: 1.03-1.86) at 2 year follow-up; this association was also only observed in one direction. Adjustment for parental education did not change our findings. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the association between overweight and psychosocial well-being may be bidirectional but varies by assessment measures. Future research should further investigate which aspects of psychosocial well-being are most likely to precede overweight and which are more likely to be consequences of overweight.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the proportion of 12 to 18-year-old adolescents perceiving themselves to be overweight has increased from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, and to evaluate how self-reported weight is associated with weight concern in the different age groups among girls and boys, and how this association has changed over time. Material: A nationally representative sample of 26,700 girls and 23,346 boys, aged 12-18 years, who responded to the postal survey study Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey in 1979-1999. Methods: Self-reported information about weight, height and satisfaction with one's own weight. Results: Girls reported more concerns of being overweight than boys. The proportion of those perceiving themselves as being overweight decreased over time both among overweight and among normal weight adolescents. Conclusion: Even if the adolescent population has gained weight, they are less concerned at being overweight than earlier. It seems that adolescents compare themselves rather to the peers close to them than to ideal models provided by culture at large.

The prevalence of adolescent overweight and obesity has been increasing in most parts of the world during the past few decades. However, data from the Nordic countries have so far been scarce. This overview aims to pull together existing information on secular trends in adolescent overweight and obesity in the Nordic countries. In general, the trends over time have been uniform throughout the Nordic countries, with a steady increase in the prevalence of adolescent overweight and obesity, and an increased right-sided skewness of the body mass index distribution. Continuous monitoring of these trends and studies examining the causes of these trends are needed in order to develop sound strategies to prevent obesity. 

Background and aim. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased three-fold among Finnish adolescents during the past three decades. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether this secular trend differed between sociodemographic subgroups of adolescents. Methods. Mailed surveys were conducted among nationally representative samples of 12-18 year olds biennially in 1979-2005 (N = 3 105-8 390 per year, response rates 88%-66%). Body mass index was calculated from self-reported weight and height, and overweight (including obesity) was defined according to the IOTF reference for children. Associations between sociodemographic factors and secular trend in the prevalence of overweight were tested by logistic regression including interaction terms between survey year and sociodemographic variables. Results. Throughout the study period a higher prevalence of overweight, as compared with the respective reference groups, was observed among adolescents from rural areas, Western or Eastern Finland; or from lower socioeconomic status families (as measured by father's/guardian's education or occupational status or by mother's education); adolescents reporting lower school achievement, attending vocational school or not going to school at all; adolescents whose fathers were not employed outside home; and among girls living in non-nuclear families or whose mothers were unemployed/laid-off or retired/on long-lasting sick leave. The statistically significant interactions between survey year and sociodemographic variables on the prevalence of overweight were few and inconsistent. Conclusion. The prevalence of overweight varied across sociodemographic subgroups of adolescents but in general no sociodemographic differences in the trends over time were observed. These results suggest that factors underlying the increasing trend of overweight have affected the entire adolescent population.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased among children and adolescents, as well as among adults, and television viewing has been suggested as one cause. Playing digital games (video, computer and console games), or using computer may be other sedentary behaviors related to the development of overweight and obesity. OBJECTIVE: To study the relationships of times spent on viewing television, playing digital games and using computer to overweight among Finnish adolescents. DESIGN: Mailed cross-sectional survey. SUBJECTS: Nationally representative samples of 14-, 16-, and 18-y-old (N = 6515, response rate 70%) in 2001. METHODS: Overweight and obesity were assessed by body mass index (BMI). The respondents reported times spent daily on viewing television, playing digital games (video, computer and console games) and using computer (for e-mail, writing and surfing). Data on timing of biological maturation, intensity of weekly physical activity and family's socio economic status were taken into account in the statistical analyses. RESULTS: Increased times spent on viewing television and using computer were associated with increased prevalence of overweight (obesity inclusive) among girls: compared to girls viewing television < 1 h daily, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for being overweight was 1.4 when spending 1-3 h, and 2.0 when spending >= 4 h daily on viewing television. In girls using computer >= 1 h daily, the OR for being overweight was 1.5 compared to girls using computer < 1 h daily. The results were similar in boys, although not statistically significant. Time spent on playing digital games was not associated with overweight. CONCLUSION: Overweight was associated with using information and communication technology (ICT), but only with certain forms of ICT. Increased use of ICT may be one factor explaining the increased prevalence of overweight and obesity at the population level, at least in girls. Playing digital games was not related to overweight, perhaps by virtue of game playing being less sedentary or related to a different lifestyle than viewing television and using computer.

The aim of the study was to find out whether bisphosphonates transform into insoluble material in human blood and serum in vitro. Samples of fresh blood and serum were incubated with various concentrations of 14C-labelled clodronate, etidronate, pamidronate and tiludronate for 2 h and 8 h at 37 °C. The presence of unfiltrable material in the plasma separated from the blood, and in the serum were studied with 1) 100, 300 and 1,000 kd (kilo Daltons) filter tubes centrifuged at 3,000 g for 60 min, and 2) high-speed centrifugation at 13,000 g for 30 min. The radioactivities in the ultrafiltrates and supernatants were compared to those in the native plasma or serum. All bisphosphonates transformed into unfiltrable material, which was separated from the samples with the 100 and 300 kd filters but not with the 1,000 kd filter. The material was not sedimented with the high-speed centrifugation. The lengthening of the incubation time from 2 h to 8 h increased the unfiltrable fraction, which generally was dependent on the drug concentration in the blood, too. However, the fraction of the unfiltrable material did not seem to increase with time when the drug was incubated with serum instead of blood. Since drug binding to plasma proteins is generally a very rapid process, some factors other than proteins only, e.g. cations or cation residues, present in the blood but not in the serum, should be involved in transforming of bisphosphonates into insoluble material in the blood.

OBJECTIVE: To study the trends in overweight and obesity among Finnish adolescents in 1977-1999. DESIGN: Mailed surveys every other year. SUBJECTS: Nationally representative samples of 12, 14, 16 and 18-y-olds (n = 64 147, response rate 78.9%). METHODS: Overweight and obesity were measured by body mass index (BMI) and relative weight (RW) based on self-reported height and weight. BMI greater than or equal to the 85th percentile cut-off point for BMI in each age- and sex-specific group in the entire data set was considered as overweight, and BMI greater than or equal to 95th percentile cut-off point as obesity. RW greater than or equal to 110% and greater than or equal to 120%, calculated as the individual's weight divided by the mean weight in each age- and sex-specific height percentile group in the entire data set, were considered as overweight and obesity, respectively. The trends in overweight and obesity are described by the change in the 85th and 95th percentile cut-off points of BMI over time. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is also reported using BMI reference values recommended for international comparisons. Because of the similarity of the BMI and the RW criteria in classifying adolescents as overweight and obese, only results based on BMI are presented. RESULTS: Overweight and obesity increased linearly in all sex and age groups from 1977 to 1999. Depending on the age group, the average increase in the 85th percentile cut-off point of the BMI per 10y was 0.6-1.1 kg/m(2) in boys and 0.3-0.7 kg/m(2) in girls. The 95th percentile cut-off point of the BMI for boys and girls increased by 1.1-1.6 kg/m(2) and by 0.6-1.0 kg/m(2) per 10 y, respectively. In boys, the increase in overweight and obesity was largest in the two youngest age groups. In girls, the increase in overweight was largest in the oldest age group, and that of obesity both in the 14 and 18-y-olds. Overweight and obesity increased more in boys than in girls in all age groups except in the 18-y-olds among whom the increase was similar in both sexes. Examination of the entire BMI distribution showed that there was little or no change over time at the lower (5th, 15th) and middle (50th) percentiles, but increasing differences at the upper end of the distribution, the increases in the 95th percentile being even more marked than those in the 85th percentile curves. According to international reference values, the age-standardized prevalence of overweight increased in boys from 7.2 to 16.7%, and in girls from 4.0 to 9.8%, between 1977 and 1999. The prevalence of obesity in boys was 1.1% in 1977 and 2.7% in 1999, and in girls 0.4 and 1.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overweight and obesity increased remarkably among Finnish adolescents from 1977 to 1999. The changes concentrated at the upper end of the BMI distribution, suggesting that factors behind this development have influenced only a part of the adolescent population.

Background: Two new sets of stratification indicators - family's material affluence and adolescent's personal social position- were compared with traditional indicators of familial social position based on parental occupation and education for their ability to detect health inequality among adolescents. Methods: Survey data were collected in the Adolescent Health and Lifestyle Survey in 2003 from nationally representative samples of 12-, 14- and 16-year-old Finns (number of respondents 5394, response rate 71%). Indicators of the familial social position were father's socio-economic status, parents' education, parents' labour market position. Indicators of material affluence were number of cars, vacation travels, and computers in the family, own room and amount of weekly spending money. Adolescent's personal social position was measured as school performance. Measures of health were long-standing illness, overweight, use of mental health services, poor self-rated health and number of weekly health complaints. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was applied to study the associations between stratification indicators and health variables. Results: All three groups of indicators of social stratification showed inequality in health, but the strongest associations were observed with the adolescent's personal social position. Health inequality was only partly identifiable by the traditional indicators of familial social position. The direction of the inequality was as expected when using the traditional indicators or personal social position: adolescents from higher social positions were healthier than those from lower positions. The indicators of family's material affluence showed mainly weak or no association with health and some of the indicators were inversely associated, although weakly. Conclusion: In addition to traditional indicators describing the socio-structural influences on the distribution of health among adolescents, indicators of family's material affluence should be further developed. Adolescents' personal social position should be included in the studies of health inequalities.

Objective: The objective was to develop a Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index (FCHEI), to determine the relative validity of the index and to examine associations between the index and familial sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics. Design: Cross-sectional samples of children participating in a population-based birth cohort study in Finland. Setting: Type I Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) Study cohort. Subjects: Three-day food records from 1-year-old (n 455), 3-year-old (n 471) and 6-year-old (n 713) children were completed between 2003 and 2005. Results: Validity of the FCHEI was assessed by studying the associations between the FCHEI and nutrient intakes of the children. Among all age groups, intakes of SFA and sugars decreased across increasing quartiles of the FCHEI while intakes of PUFA, dietary fibre, vitamin D and vitamin E increased. Among 3- and 6-year-olds, being cared for at home was associated with the lowest FCHEI quartile (diet that deviates most from the recommendations). The lowest FCHEI quartile was also associated with residence in a semi-urban area among the 3-year-olds and low maternal education and smoking during pregnancy among the 6-year-olds. Conclusions: The FCHEI serves as a valid indicator of the quality of Finnish children's diet. Public health programmes aimed at improving the dietary behaviours of pre-school aged children should aim to improve the quality of food served at home. Families with history of lower parental education, maternal smoking during pregnancy or non-urban place of residence may require special attention.

Background

Several potential early-life risk factors for childhood overweight and obesity have been identified. Yet results regarding early risk factors and obesity (BMI-for-age ≥30 kg/m2) at pre-school age are mixed and boys and girls have rarely been studied separately. Our aim was to study whether pre- and perinatal factors predict obesity in 5-year-old boys and girls.

Methods

National register data was used to identify children born in Finland between 2007 and 2014 with data available on pre- and perinatal factors as well as on height and weight at 5 years of age (n = 131,818). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyze sex-specific associations between pre- and perinatal factors (e.g. maternal age, parity, pre-pregnancy BMI, smoking, diabetes, delivery method, gestational-age-adjusted birth weight) and offspring obesity.

Results

Five percent of boys (n = 3,551) and 3% of girls (n = 1,949) had obesity. Adjusted for potential confounders, the strongest predictor of subsequent obesity at 5 years of age was severe maternal obesity (BMI ≥35 kg/m2) (boys: OR 6.5, 95% CI 5.8-7.4; girls: OR 7.5, 95% CI 6.4-8.8) followed by maternal obesity (BMI 30.0-34.9 kg/m²) (boys: OR 3.9, 95% CI 3.5-4.4; girls: OR 5.5, 95% CI 4.8-6.2) and maternal overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9 kg/m²) (boys: OR 2.3, 95% CI 2.1-2.5; girls: OR 2.6, 95% CI 2.3-3.0). Other factors associated with child obesity were maternal smoking during pregnancy (boys: OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.6-1.9; girls: OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.8-2.2) and being born large for gestational age (boys: OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.6-2.2; girls: OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.8-2.6).

Conclusions

These findings indicate that childhood obesity may partly originate before conception, gestation and birth. As prevention of obesity may be economically and socially more sustainable than treatment of its consequences, emphasis should be put on early interventions. Particular attention should be paid on preventing maternal overweight and obesity.