A 42-year-old childhood obesity theory may be wrong
New research challenges the long-standing 'adiposity rebound' theory, which suggests that a rise in BMI after age 6 is a sign of increasing body fat. Instead, scientists argue this increase is likely due to normal muscle and lean tissue development.
Why it matters
Revising this theory could prevent unnecessary medical interventions for children who are experiencing healthy growth rather than obesity.
New findings challenge a 42-year-old theory about why children's body mass index (BMI) declines after infancy and then begins climbing steadily from about age 6. The pattern has long been described as the "adiposity rebound," based on the idea that body fat first decreases and then returns.
However, the new analysis suggests that the later increase in BMI is not caused by a rebound in fat. Instead, it may largely reflect the normal growth of muscle and other lean tissue.
The research, led by Professor Andrew Agbaje, a physician and associate professor of clinical epidemiology and child health at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, was presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey and published in The Journal of Nutrition .
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