eprintid: 10117374
rev_number: 19
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/11/73/74
datestamp: 2020-12-15 12:32:00
lastmod: 2021-09-25 22:47:19
status_changed: 2020-12-15 12:32:00
type: proceedings_section
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Lumey, LH
creators_name: Ekamper, P
creators_name: Bijward, G
creators_name: Conti, G
creators_name: Van Poppel, F
title: Overweight and obesity at age 18 after pre-natal famine exposure
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B03
divisions: C03
divisions: F24
note: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
abstract: Background: In 1976, researchers reported that young men are more likely to be obese after famine
exposure in utero. The findings were based on examinations at military induction of men
in the Netherlands who had been exposed to the Dutch famine of 1944-1945. We had
the opportunity to re-examine the relation between prenatal famine exposure and height
and weight at age 18-19 with current definitions for being overweight or obese and with
modern analytic methods. /

Methods and findings: We used height and weight information from 408,015 men in the Netherlands born
between 1943-1947 and examined for military service at age 18-19. This group includes
men with and without prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine of 1944-1945. We found
that the odds for being overweight at age 18 were significantly elevated (OR=1.56; CI
1.23 to 1.97) among sons of manual workers born in the famine cities. Contrary to
findings in the 1976 publication, no increase was seen among sons of non-manual
workers born in the famine cities. This may reflect more limited access to food by poorer
populations exposed to the famine period. The increase was limited to men exposed to
famine during early gestation. The risk of obesity in this group was also elevated
although the prevalence of obesity (0.4%) was low. /

Conclusions: We show increases in being overweight at age 18 after prenatal famine in the
Netherlands among sons of manual workers. Further studies are needed to examine the
impact of these weight changes as a possible mediator of famine effects on later
morbidity and mortality. The underlying mechanisms of these observations need further
clarification.
date: 2019-04-27
date_type: published
publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
official_url: https://www.nber.org/conferences/cohort-studies-meeting-spring-2019
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1836741
lyricists_name: Conti, Gabriella
lyricists_id: GCONT23
actors_name: Allington-Smith, Dominic
actors_id: DAALL44
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Proceedings of the Cohort Studies Meeting Spring 2019
place_of_pub: Cambridge, MA, USA
event_title: Cohort Studies Meeting Spring 2019
event_location: Cambridge, MA, USA
event_dates: 26 April 2019 - 27 April 2019
institution: Cohort Studies Meeting Spring 2019
book_title: Proceedings of the Cohort Studies Meeting Spring 2019
citation:        Lumey, LH;    Ekamper, P;    Bijward, G;    Conti, G;    Van Poppel, F;      (2019)    Overweight and obesity at age 18 after pre-natal famine exposure.                     In:  Proceedings of the Cohort Studies Meeting Spring 2019.    National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): Cambridge, MA, USA.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10117374/1/Lumey_etal_NBER-CS_2019_Overweight%20at%20age%2018%20after%20prenatal%20exposure%20to%20famine.pdf