Exposure to Famine During Early Life and Abdominal Obesity in Adulthood: Findings from the Great Chinese Famine During 1959⁻1961

Overview

Journal Nutrients

Date 2019 Apr 25

PMID 31013668

Citations 14

Authors

Dan Liu

Dong-Mei Yu

Li-Yun Zhao

Hong-Yun Fang

Jian Zhang

Jing-Zhong Wang

Zhen-Yu Yang

Wen-Hua Zhao

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Undernutrition during early life may lead to obesity in adulthood. This study was conducted to examine the relationship between famine exposure during early life and the risk of abdominal obesity in adulthood. A total of 18,984 and 16,594 adults were surveyed in 2002 and 2010-2012 in two nationally representative cross-sectional surveys, namely China Nutrition and Health Survey, respectively. The risk of abdominal obesity was evaluated for participants born during 1956-1961 and compared with that of participants born during 1962-1964. The overall prevalence of abdominal obesity in adulthood showed a positive association with famine exposure during early life. The odds ratios of famine exposure were 1.31 (1.19-1.44) and 1.28 (1.17-1.40) in 2002 during fetal life and infancy and 1.09 (1.00-1.19) in 2012 during fetal life, respectively. The relationships between famine exposure and abdominal obesity across the famine exposure groups were distinct among females and those who lived in urban areas and were physical inactive ( < 0.05). Exposure to famine during early life was associated with increased risks of abdominal obesity in adulthood, which was partially alleviated by healthy lifestyle factors (e.g., physical activity).

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