The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 157, Issue 1 , Pages 20-25.e1 , July 2010

Infant Overweight Is Associated with Delayed Motor Development

  • Meghan Slining, MS, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Meghan M Slining, MS MPH, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Carolina Population Center, University Square, 123 Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997.
    • ,
  • Linda S. Adair, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • ,
  • Barbara Davis Goldman, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • ,
  • Judith B. Borja, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Office of Population Studies Foundation, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines
    • ,
  • Margaret Bentley, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
    • Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

Received 21 July 2009 ,Revised 17 November 2009 ,Accepted 30 December 2009.

References 

  1. Eickmann SH, de Lira PI, Lima Mde C, Coutinho SB, Teixeira Mde L, Ashworth A. Breast feeding and mental and motor development at 12 months in a low-income population in northeast Brazil. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2007;21:129–137
  2. Kariger PK, Stoltzfus RJ, Olney D, Sazawal S, Black R, Tielsch JM, et al. Iron deficiency and physical growth predict attainment of walking but not crawling in poorly nourished Zanzibari infants. J Nutr. 2005;135:814–819
  3. Siegel EH, Stoltzfus RJ, Kariger PK, Katz J, Khatry SK, LeClerq SC, et al. Growth indices, anemia, and diet independently predict motor milestone acquisition of infants in south central Nepal. J Nutr. 2005;135:2840–2844
  4. Frey GC, Chow B. Relationship between BMI, physical fitness, and motor skills in youth with mild intellectual disabilities. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006;30:861–867
  5. Graf C, Koch B, Kretschmann-Kandel E, Falkowski G, Christ H, Coburger S, et al. Correlation between BMI, leisure habits and motor abilities in childhood (CHILT-project). Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004;28:22–26
  6. Mond JM, Stich H, Hay PJ, Kraemer A, Baune BT. Associations between obesity and developmental functioning in pre-school children: a population-based study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2007;31:1068–1073
  7. Okely AD, Booth ML, Chey T. Relationships between body composition and fundamental movement skills among children and adolescents. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2004;75:238–247
  8. Cawley J, Spiess CK. Obesity and skill attainment in early childhood. Econ Hum Biol. 2008;6:388–397
  9. Jaffe M, Kosakov C. The motor development of fat babies. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1982;21:619–621
  10. Shibli R, Rubin L, Akons H, Shaoul R. Morbidity of overweight (>or = 85th percentile) in the first 2 years of life. Pediatrics. 2008;122:267–272
  11. MCGR Study Group. Relationship between physical growth and motor development in the WHO Child Growth Standards. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 2006;450:96–101
  12. Bayley's Scales of Infant Development. Available at http://www.answers.com/topic/bayley-scales-of-infant-development. Accessed June 10, 2007.
  13. Bushnell EW, Boudreau JP. Motor development and the mind: the potential role of motor abilities as a determinant of aspects of perceptual development. Child Dev. 1993;64:1005–1021
  14. Thelen E. Developmental origins of motor coordination: leg movements in human infants. Dev Psychobiol. 1984;18:1–22
  15. Annual update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. In: 68 Federal Register 26. 2003. p. 6456–8. Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
  16. Laraia BA, Borja JB, Bentley ME. Grandmothers, fathers, and depressive symptoms are associated with food insecurity among low-income first-time African-American mothers in North Carolina. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109:1042–1047
  17. Ogden CL, Kuczmarski RJ, Flegal KM, Mei Z, Guo S, Wei R, et al. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 growth charts for the United States: improvements to the 1977 National Center for Health Statistics version. Pediatrics. 2002;109:45–60
  18. Wells Jc. A Hattori chart analysis of body mass index in infants and children. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000;24:325–329
  19. Davies PS, Lucas A. Quetelet's index as a measure of body fatness in young infants. Early Hum Dev. 1989;20:135–141
  20. Wells JC, Fewtrell MS, Williams JE, Haroun D, Lawson MS, Cole TJ. Body composition in normal weight, overweight and obese children: matched case-control analyses of total and regional tissue masses, and body composition trends in relation to relative weight. Int J Obes (Lond). 2006;30:1506–1513
  21. Schmelzle HR, Fusch C. Body fat in neonates and young infants: validation of skinfold thickness versus dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002;76:1096–1100
  22. Gibson R. Principles of nutritional assessment. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2005;
  23. Bayley N. Bayley Scales of Infant Development. 2nd ed. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation; 1993;
  24. Stata statistical software, release 9.2 for Windows. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP; 2007;
  25. Koo WW. Body composition measurements during infancy. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2000;904:383–392
  26. Wells JC, Fewtrell MS. Is body composition important for paediatricians?. Arch Dis Child. 2008;93:168–172
  27. Wells JC, Fewtrell MS. Measuring body composition. Arch Dis Child. 2006;91:612–617

 Supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD42219-02) and the Mead Johnson Children's Nutrition Small Research Grants Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

PII: S0022-3476(09)01314-6

doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.12.054

The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 157, Issue 1 , Pages 20-25.e1 , July 2010

Article Tools