Arch Dis Child 1997;77:381-383 ( November )

Article

Birth weight and body fat distribution in adolescent girls M Barker, S Robinson, C Osmond, D J P Barker

MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD

Correspondence to: Mary Barker.

OBJECTIVETo examine the association between birth weight and body fat distribution in a group of adolescent girls.
DESIGNA total of 216 white girls who were born in Southampton had their heights, weights, waist and hip circumferences, and skinfold thicknesses measured when they were aged between 14 and 16 years.
RESULTSThe girls who were smallest at birth, but who were fattest at time of measurement were the most centrally obese. In girls whose body mass index was above the median (21 kg/m²), the subscapular to triceps skinfold ratio rose by 9% for every kilogram decrease in birth weight. Among overweight girls, with a body mass index over 25, the ratio rose by 27% for every kilogram decrease in birth weight.
CONCLUSIONIn adolescent girls, the tendency to store fat on the trunk rather than the limbs, seems to be programmed by growth in fetal life, and is most evident in those who are overweight.

Keywords: birth weight; adolescence; body fat distribution

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© 1997 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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