Comparison between type A and type B early adiposity rebound in predicting overweight and obesity in children: a longitudinal study

Early adiposity rebound (EAR) predicts paediatric overweight/obesity, but current approaches do not consider both the starting point of EAR and the BMI trajectory. We compared the clinical characteristics at birth, age 3-5 and 6-8 years of children, according to the EAR and to its type (type A/type B-EAR). We assessed the children & apos;s odds of being classified as overweight/obese at age 6-8 years, according to the type of EAR as defined at age 3-5 years. As part of this two-wave observational study, 1055 children were recruited and examined at age 3-5 years. Antenatal and postnatal information was collected through interviews with parents, and weight and height from the health records. Type A and type B-EAR were defined in wave 1 according to the BMI nadir and the variation of BMIz-score between the starting point of the adiposity rebound and the last point on the curve. At 6-8 years (wave 2), 867 children were followed up; 426 (40 center dot 4 %) children demonstrated EAR. Among them, 172 had type A-EAR, higher rates of parental obesity (P< 0 center dot 05) and greater birth weight compared with other children (P< 0 center dot 001). Odds for overweight/obesity at 6-8 years, when adjusting for antenatal and postnatal factors, was 21 center dot 35 (95 % CI 10 center dot 94, 41 center dot 66) in type A-EAR children and not significant in type B-EAR children (OR 1 center dot 76; 95 % CI 0 center dot 84, 3 center dot 68) compared with children without EAR. Classification of EAR into two subtypes provides physicians with a reliable approach to identify children at risk for overweight/obesity before the age of 5 years.