Key characteristics of included studies
| Category | No. of studies | References |
|---|---|---|
| Region | ||
| North America | 10 | 28 29 41–44 46 47 51 52 |
| Europe | 12 | 26 30–33 35 37 45 49 53–55 |
| Australia | 3 | 27 38 39 |
| South/Central America | 2 | 48 50 |
| Asia | 3 | 34 36 40 |
| Sample size | ||
| >20000 | 6 | 28 30 35 40 41 53 |
| 10000–20000 | 3 | 33 37 46 |
| 1000–10000 | 14 | 26 27 31 34 36 39 42 43 47 50–52 54 55 |
| <1000 | 7 | 29 32 38 44 45 48 49 |
| Cohort start year | ||
| ≥2000 | 5 | 26 32 33 37 44 |
| 1990–1999 | 17 | 30 34–36 38 40 42 43 47–55 |
| 1980–1989 | 6 | 27 29 31 39 45 46 |
| <1980 | 2 | 28 41 |
| Duration of follow-up | ||
| >10–16 years | 3 | 27 29 50 |
| 5–10 years | 14 | 28 30 31 34 36 38–41 44 48 49 54 55 |
| 2–<5 years | 13 | 26 32 33 35 37 42 43 45–47 51–53 |
| Definition of overweight | ||
| BMI≥85th or 95th percentile (CDC) | 16 | 28 29 39–52 |
| BMI≥25 kg/m2 or 30 kg/m2 (IOTF) | 10 | 27 30–38 |
| BMI≥95th or 98th percentile (UK 1990) | 2 | 53 54 |
| BMI≥90th or 97th percentile (France) | 1 | 55 |
| BMI≥90th or 97th percentile (German) | 1 | 26 |
| Risk factors | ||
| Strong association | ||
| Maternal pre-pregnancy overweight | 3 | 29 33 54 |
| High infant birth weight | 7 | 28 29 33 40 42 48 54 |
| Rapid weight gain | 6 | 28 29 34 42 48 54 |
| Maternal smoking in pregnancy* | 7 | 32 33 41 42 45 49 54 |
| Moderate association | ||
| Ever breastfeeding in infants aged less than 1 year | 10 | 26 27 33 36 39 46 52–55 |
| Early introduction of solid foods | 4 | 33 38 47 50 |
| Mixed evidence | ||
| Longer duration of breastfeeding | 5 | 26 31 35 50 52 |
| Maternal marital status at birth | 3 | 29 33 42 |
| Parity | 3 | 28 42 54 |
| Socioeconomic status at birth | 2 | 33 42 |
| No association | ||
| Maternal age at birth | 4 | 29 35 42 54 |
| Maternal education at birth | 2 | 33 42 |
| Maternal depression | 2 | 30 43 |
| Infant ethnicity | 3 | 28 33 54 |
| Inconclusive evidence | ||
| Delivery type | 1 | 29 |
| Maternal postpartum weight loss | 1 | 51 |
| Gestational weight gain | 1 | 29 |
| Infant temperament | 1 | 44 |
| Quality assessment† | ||
| Selection | ||
| High (4 points) | 6 | 28 29 34 40 43 53 |
| Moderate/low (<4 points) | 24 | 26 27 30–33 35–39 41 42 44–52 54 55 |
| Comparability | ||
| High (2 points) | 22 | 28–34 36 39–41 43 44 46–54 |
| Moderate/low (<2 points) | 8 | 26 27 35 37 38 42 45 55 |
| Ascertainment | ||
| High (3 points) | 8 | 26 27 29 36 37 40 52 54 |
| Moderate/low (<3 points) | 22 | 28 30–35 38 39 41–51 53 55 |
*Obtained from random-effects meta-analysis.
†Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
BMI, body mass index; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; IOTF, International Obesity Task Force.