Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey
Intrauterine malnutrition has a long-term effect on human health. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between exposure to famine in early life and obesity in adulthood in Chinese adults. A total of 5033 participants (22,132 observations) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 1...
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1285 |
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| author | Huiru Jiang Yongfu Yu Leah Li Wanghong Xu |
| author_facet | Huiru Jiang Yongfu Yu Leah Li Wanghong Xu |
| author_sort | Huiru Jiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Intrauterine malnutrition has a long-term effect on human health. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between exposure to famine in early life and obesity in adulthood in Chinese adults. A total of 5033 participants (22,132 observations) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 1991–2015 were classified into three famine exposure groups according to their birth year: unexposed (1963–1966), fetal-exposed (1959–1962) and childhood-exposed (1955–1958). Compared with the unexposed group, the fetal-exposed group had higher levels of body-mass-index (BMI) and waist-circumference (WC), and higher prevalence of overweight and central obesity, whereas the childhood-exposed group had lower levels of the measurements. However, the positive associations of fetal exposure with BMI, WC and prevalence of overweight and central obesity were attenuated by additionally adjusting for age at survey. Stratified analysis showed that the adverse effect of fetal exposure to famine was only observed in subjects at several specific age-groups, and in men living in rural areas and in women living in more severe famine exposed areas (<i>p</i> for interaction < 0.05). Our results provide evidence for the weak effect of fetal exposure to famine on body measurements in adulthood, and suggest the importance of severity of famine exposure and timing of exposure. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:20:38Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-d3d406e234c44f57a912e2313d4d572a2023-11-21T15:30:32ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432021-04-01134128510.3390/nu13041285Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition SurveyHuiru Jiang0Yongfu Yu1Leah Li2Wanghong Xu3Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, ChinaDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, ChinaPopulation, Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, University College London Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London WC1N 1EH, UKDepartment of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education Fudan University, 138 Yi Xue Yuan Road, Shanghai 200032, ChinaIntrauterine malnutrition has a long-term effect on human health. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between exposure to famine in early life and obesity in adulthood in Chinese adults. A total of 5033 participants (22,132 observations) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 1991–2015 were classified into three famine exposure groups according to their birth year: unexposed (1963–1966), fetal-exposed (1959–1962) and childhood-exposed (1955–1958). Compared with the unexposed group, the fetal-exposed group had higher levels of body-mass-index (BMI) and waist-circumference (WC), and higher prevalence of overweight and central obesity, whereas the childhood-exposed group had lower levels of the measurements. However, the positive associations of fetal exposure with BMI, WC and prevalence of overweight and central obesity were attenuated by additionally adjusting for age at survey. Stratified analysis showed that the adverse effect of fetal exposure to famine was only observed in subjects at several specific age-groups, and in men living in rural areas and in women living in more severe famine exposed areas (<i>p</i> for interaction < 0.05). Our results provide evidence for the weak effect of fetal exposure to famine on body measurements in adulthood, and suggest the importance of severity of famine exposure and timing of exposure.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1285famine exposurebody mass indexwaist circumferenceoverweightcentral obesityadulthood |
| spellingShingle | Huiru Jiang Yongfu Yu Leah Li Wanghong Xu Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey Nutrients famine exposure body mass index waist circumference overweight central obesity adulthood |
| title | Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey |
| title_full | Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey |
| title_fullStr | Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey |
| title_short | Exposure to the Great Famine in Early Life and the Risk of Obesity in Adulthood: A Report Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey |
| title_sort | exposure to the great famine in early life and the risk of obesity in adulthood a report based on the china health and nutrition survey |
| topic | famine exposure body mass index waist circumference overweight central obesity adulthood |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1285 |
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