Review on Childhood Obesity: Discussing Effects of Gestational Age at Birth and Spotting Association of Postterm Birth with Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Overweight and obesity in children and adolescents and its negative effects on health, including increased risks of long-term diseases like type II DM, CVD, dyslipidemia, , stroke, hypertension, respiratory issues, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, along with certain malignancies, which are already identified during the perinatal and prenatal period is one of the most important worldwide health concerns of the twenty-first century. To overcome the current epidemic of overweight and obesity, obstructing their risk factors is important in an effort to prevent the development of obesity and overweight. Multiple epidemiological research studies have shown a connection between BMI acquired later in life and birth weight; however, the results are constrained by the absence of information on gestational age. Majority of studies reported relation of childhood obesity with the preterm born children in study of relation with the gestational age. Although more likely to become obese in later adulthood, preterm and low birth weight born child are small and/or lean at birth, whereas post-term usually not and above all, children born postterm showed signs of a rapid weight gain that led to obesity decades early. Thus, the purpose of this review study is to determine the impact of the gestational age at delivery and to provide an overview of the evidence supporting the link between childhood obesity and post-term birth.. Thorough systemic review conducted on online database Pubmed, Google Scholar and found only few studies on association with the post- term born children. Limited evidence necessitated the studying of additional adult post-term cohorts to accurately determine future risks to health and to investigate these potential metabolic alterations, as well as if the alterations in adiposity continue or get worse throughout adulthood, and how these correlations vary in adult born post-term in terms of pattern and amplitude.