Understanding risk and causal mechanisms for developing obesity in infants and young children: A National Institutes of Health workshop

Kjersti M Aagaard; Shari L Barkin; Charles F Burant; Susan Carnell; Ellen Demerath; Sharon M Donovan; Ihuoma Eneli; Lori A Francis; Diane Gilbert-Diamond; Marie-France Hivert; Monique K LeBourgeois; Ruth J F Loos; Julie C Lumeng; Alison L Miller; Anthony D Okely; Stavroula K Osganian; Amelie G Ramirez; Leonardo Trasande; Linda V Van Horn; Melissa Wake; Rosalind J Wright; Susan Z Yanovski

doi:10.1111/obr.13690

Understanding risk and causal mechanisms for developing obesity in infants and young children: A National Institutes of Health workshop

Obes Rev. 2024 Apr;25(4):e13690. doi: 10.1111/obr.13690. Epub 2024 Jan 11.

Authors

Kjersti M Aagaard^{1

2

3}, Shari L Barkin⁴, Charles F Burant⁵, Susan Carnell⁶, Ellen Demerath⁷, Sharon M Donovan^{8

9}, Ihuoma Eneli^{10

11}, Lori A Francis¹², Diane Gilbert-Diamond¹³, Marie-France Hivert^{14

15}, Monique K LeBourgeois¹⁶, Ruth J F Loos^{17

18}, Julie C Lumeng¹⁹, Alison L Miller²⁰, Anthony D Okely^{21

22

23}, Stavroula K Osganian²⁴, Amelie G Ramirez²⁵, Leonardo Trasande^{26

27

28}, Linda V Van Horn²⁹, Melissa Wake^{30

31}, Rosalind J Wright^{32

33

34}, Susan Z Yanovski²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
² Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
³ Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
⁵ Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
⁶ Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
⁷ Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
⁸ Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.
⁹ Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.
¹⁰ Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
¹¹ Center of Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
¹² Department of Biobehavioral Health, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹³ Department of Epidemiology, Medicine and Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
¹⁴ Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse (CoRAL), Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁵ Diabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁷ Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁸ The Charles Bronfman Institute for Personalized Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
²⁰ Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
²¹ School of Health and Society, Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
²² llawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
²³ Department of Sport, Food, and Natural Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway.
²⁴ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
²⁵ Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
²⁶ Department of Pediatrics, New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
²⁷ Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
²⁸ Department of Population Health, New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.
²⁹ Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
³⁰ Population Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
³¹ Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
³² Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
³³ Institute for Exposomic Research, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
³⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Kravis Children's Hospital, New York, New York, USA.

PMID: 38204366
DOI: 10.1111/obr.13690

Abstract

Obesity in children remains a major public health problem, with the current prevalence in youth ages 2-19 years estimated to be 19.7%. Despite progress in identifying risk factors, current models do not accurately predict development of obesity in early childhood. There is also substantial individual variability in response to a given intervention that is not well understood. On April 29-30, 2021, the National Institutes of Health convened a virtual workshop on "Understanding Risk and Causal Mechanisms for Developing Obesity in Infants and Young Children." The workshop brought together scientists from diverse disciplines to discuss (1) what is known regarding epidemiology and underlying biological and behavioral mechanisms for rapid weight gain and development of obesity and (2) what new approaches can improve risk prediction and gain novel insights into causes of obesity in early life. Participants identified gaps and opportunities for future research to advance understanding of risk and underlying mechanisms for development of obesity in early life. It was emphasized that future studies will require multi-disciplinary efforts across basic, behavioral, and clinical sciences. An exposome framework is needed to elucidate how behavioral, biological, and environmental risk factors interact. Use of novel statistical methods may provide greater insights into causal mechanisms.

Keywords: childhood obesity; childhood obesity prevention; childhood obesity risk.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Infant
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
Pediatric Obesity* / epidemiology
Pediatric Obesity* / etiology
Public Health
Risk Factors
United States / epidemiology
Weight Gain

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding