Infant Motor Milestones and Childhood Overweight: Trends over Two Decades in A Large Twin Cohort

Brouwer, Silvia I.; Stolk, Ronald P.; Bartels, Meike; van Beijsterveld, Toos C.E.M.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Corpeleijn, Eva

doi:10.3390/ijerph17072366

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Infant Motor Milestones and Childhood Overweight: Trends over Two Decades in A Large Twin Cohort

Silvia I. Brouwer

^1,2,*,

Ronald P. Stolk

Meike Bartels

Toos C.E.M. van Beijsterveld

³,

Dorret I. Boomsma

and

Eva Corpeleijn

Institute of Sportstudies, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Zernikeplein 17, 9747 AS Groningen, The Netherlands

Department of Epidemilogy, University Medical Center Groningen, PO Box 30.001, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands

Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(7), 2366; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072366

Received: 4 March 2020 / Revised: 26 March 2020 / Accepted: 27 March 2020 / Published: 31 March 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Motor Competence and Physical Fitness in the Promotion of an Active and Healthy Lifestyle in Children and Adolescents)

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Abstract

Background: Poor motor skill competence may influence energy balance with childhood overweight as a result. Our aim was to investigate whether the age of motor milestone achievement has changed over the past decades and whether this change may contribute to the increasing trend observed in childhood overweight. Methods: Motor skill competence was assessed in children from the Young Netherlands Twin Register born between 1987 and 2007. Follow-up ranged from 4 up to 10 years. Weight and height were assessed at birth, 6 months, 14 months, and 2, 4, 7, and 10 years. Results: Babies born in later cohorts achieved their motor milestones ‘crawling’, ‘standing’, and ‘walking unassisted’ later compared to babies born in earlier cohorts (N = 18,514, p < 0.001). The prevalence of overweight at age 10 was higher in later cohorts (p = 0.033). The increase in overweight at age 10 was not explained by achieving motor milestones at a later age and this persisted after adjusting for gestational age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Conclusion: Comparing children born in 1987 to those born in 2007, we conclude that children nowadays achieve their motor milestones at a later age. This does not however, explain the increasing trend in childhood overweight. View Full-Text

Keywords: motor milestones; infant; childhood; overweight; BMI; secular trends

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MDPI and ACS Style

Brouwer, S.I.; Stolk, R.P.; Bartels, M.; van Beijsterveld, T.C.E.M.; Boomsma, D.I.; Corpeleijn, E. Infant Motor Milestones and Childhood Overweight: Trends over Two Decades in A Large Twin Cohort. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2366. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072366

AMA Style

Brouwer SI, Stolk RP, Bartels M, van Beijsterveld TCEM, Boomsma DI, Corpeleijn E. Infant Motor Milestones and Childhood Overweight: Trends over Two Decades in A Large Twin Cohort. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(7):2366. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072366

Chicago/Turabian Style

Brouwer, Silvia I., Ronald P. Stolk, Meike Bartels, Toos C.E.M. van Beijsterveld, Dorret I. Boomsma, and Eva Corpeleijn. 2020. "Infant Motor Milestones and Childhood Overweight: Trends over Two Decades in A Large Twin Cohort" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 7: 2366. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072366

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