Temporal trends in birth weight and its association with overweight/obesity in schoolchildren from a Brazilian city: a cross-sectional panels study (2002 to 2019)

Background/Objectives : Birth weight is an important indicator of maternal and early childhood health and is associated with long-term metabolic and anthropometric issues. We aim to verify trends in the prevalence of low and high birth weight over 16 years and associate the trends of these variables with overweight/obesity status in 7 to 10-year-old schoolchildren in Florianópolis, in the South of Brazil. Methods : Data from four cross-sectional and probabilistic panels in 2002, 2007, 2012/2013, and 2018/2019 were analyzed. Multiple logistic regressions were used to assess the association between low and height birth weight and overweight/obesity in childhood. Analyzes included biological, socioeconomic and food intake variables in the adjusted models. Results: In the adjusted model, the association of high birth weight with overweight/obesity was statistically significant in the conjunct of all waves (OR=1.63; 95% CI = 1.32 - 2.00). Contrarily, children born with low and insufficient birth weight had less chance of presenting overweight/obesity (OR=0.74; 95% CI = 0.65 - 0.85). Conclusions : A statistically significant increase in the temporal trend of low-birth-weight prevalence from 2002 to 2018/2019 was observed among schoolchildren from Florianópolis. The high birth weight and overweight/obesity were directly associated, despite the influence of variables related to food consumption and the decrease of the high birth weight over time.