Age at puberty and the emerging obesity epidemic.

Background: Recent studies have shown that puberty starts at younger ages than previously. It has been hypothesized that the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is contributing to this trend. The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between prepubertal body mass index (BMI) and pubertal timing, as assessed by age at onset of pubertal growth spurt (OGS) and at peak height velocity (PHV), and the secular trend of pubertal timing given the prepubertal BMI.

[Childhood body mass index and the risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood].

The severity of the long term consequences of the current childhood obesity epidemic on coronary heart disease is unknown. Therefore we investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) at ages 7-13 years and heart disease in adulthood among 276,835 Danish schoolchildren. We found that higher BMI during this period of childhood is associated with an increased risk of any, non-fatal and fatal heart disease in adulthood.

Forty years trends in timing of pubertal growth spurt in 157,000 Danish school children.

Background: Entering puberty is an important milestone in reproductive life and secular changes in the timing of puberty may be an important indicator of the general reproductive health in a population. Too early puberty is associated with several psychosocial and health problems. The aim of our study was to determine if the age at onset of pubertal growth spurt (OGS) and at peak height velocity (PHV) during puberty show secular trends during four decades in a large cohort of school children.

Weight at birth and all-cause mortality in adulthood.

Background: Small size at birth is associated with subsequent cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and large size is associated with obesity and cancer. The overall impact of these opposing effects on mortality throughout the lifespan is unclear because causes of death change with age.

Methods: We investigated the association of birth weight with adult all-cause mortality using a Danish school-based cohort of 216,464 men and women born from 1936 through 1979.

Childhood body-mass index and the risk of coronary heart disease in adulthood.

Background: The worldwide epidemic of childhood obesity is progressing at an alarming rate. Risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) are already identifiable in overweight children. The severity of the long-term effects of excess childhood weight on CHD, however, remains unknown.

Birth weight and risk of cancer.

Background: It is well established that prenatal biologic processes are important for the development of some childhood cancers, whereas less is known regarding their influence on adult cancer risk. High birth weight has been associated with risk of breast cancer, whereas studies of other specific cancers and all cancers together have been less conclusive.

Methods: The authors established a cohort of more than 200,000 men and women who were born between 1936 and 1975.

Secular trends in childhood obesity in Denmark during 50 years in relation to economic growth.

Objective: Our aim was to examine whether secular trends in childhood overweight and obesity during five decades could be explained by economic growth.

Research Methods And Procedures: Annual measurements of height and weight were available for all children born between 1930 and 1983 attending primary school in the Copenhagen Municipality: 165,389 boys and 163,609 girls from the age of 7 through 13 years. After computerization, we calculated BMI (kg/m2) and estimated the prevalence of overweight and obesity, according to international age- and gender-specific criteria, by year of birth and of measurement, and separately by each age group and gender.

Birth cohort effect on the obesity epidemic in Denmark.

Background: In Denmark, the obesity epidemic has developed in phases. To investigate if this has been a birth cohort phenomenon, we explored the secular trend in the prevalence of obesity among boys and young men.

Methods: We calculated body mass index (BMI; kg/m) over time for 163,835 Danish boys examined at ages 7-11 years and for 708,342 male draftees examined at age 19 years.

Stability of the association between birth weight and childhood overweight during the development of the obesity epidemic.

Objective: To assess whether changes in the birth weight distribution or changes in the association of birth weight with the later risk of childhood overweight have contributed to the development of the obesity epidemic.

Research Methods And Procedures: A Danish population-based cohort study of 124,615 girls and 128,346 boys (ages 6 to 13 years), born between 1936 and 1983, were studied. Birth weight and annual measurements of height and weight were obtained from school health records.