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O B E S I T Y   I N   C H I L D H O O D :   S E C U L A R   T R E N D   O R   E P I D E M I C   D I S E A S E ?     Chapter  2   Obesity  in  childhood:  secular  trend  or  epidemic  disease?   CHAPTER  2   Obesity  in  childhood:  a  secular  trend   or  an  epidemic  disease?   To  achieve  more  insight  into  the  origin  of  obesity,  we  studied  the  growth  of  children  throughout  the   past  decennia.  The  question  arises,  whether  the  trend  to  obesity  already  starts  during  the  prenatal   period  and  to  what  extent  the  increase  of  weight  is  related  to  a  secular  trend  in  height.     For  neonatal  data,  three  studies,  performed  in  The  Netherlands,  with  neonatal  data  of  birth  weights   were   compared.   For   postnatal   data,   weight,   height   and   Body   Mass   Index   (BMI)   of   two   nationwide   studies,  performed  in  the  Netherlands,  were  analyzed.     No  differences  between  birth  weights  were  found  between  1970  and  2007.  In  postnatal  data  a  trend   of  increasing  weight  and  BMI  in  both  boys  and  girls  starts  from  five  years  onwards.  The  secular  trend   in  height  starts  from  the  age  of  two  and  a  half  years  onward  in  both  boys  and  girls.  The  increase  in   weight  is  more  pronounced  than  the  increase  in  height.     No   prenatal   secular   trend   could   be   detected   in   The   Netherlands.   Postnatal,   the   secular   trend   is   obvious   for   weight,   height   and   BMI.   The   increase   in   skewness   of   the   weight   distribution   may   be   ascribed  to  a  metabolic  disturbance  of  the  population.           This  chapter  is  published  in:     Journal  of  Child  Health  Care  Volume  17  Issue  1,  March  2013   by  Manon  AB  Ernst,  Willem  JM  Gerver,  Michelle  YG  Simons,  Maria  WJ  Jansen,  Mark   AHBM  van  der  Hoeven,  Luc  JI  Zimmermann.     The  article  has  also  been  selected  as  part  of  a  special  issue  of  the  Journal  of  Child   Health   Care.   The   special   issue   reflects   international   perspectives   with   papers   re-­‐ porting  on  issues  within  the  Netherlands,  Germany,  Norway,  Australia,  Canada,  USA   and  the  UK.           25  


Proefschrift binnenwerk Manon Ernst_DEF.indd
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