ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the effects of severe famine exposure during early life on their later adult obesity/central obesity.Methods:We recruited 4 495 subjects who were born before and during 3 years of unpredictable natural disasters in China and from Guiyang subcenter of the Risk Evaluation of cAncers in Chinese diabeTic Individual: a lONgitudinal (REACTION) Study for data analysis. The subjects were divided into childhood exposure group(born from October 1, 1954 to September 30, 1956, n=947), infant exposure group(born from October 1, 1956 to September 30, 1958, n=939), fetal exposure group(born from October 1, 1959 to September 30, 1961, n=525), and control group(born from October 1, 1952 to September 30, 1954 and from October 1, 1962 to September 30, 1964, n=1 525) according to their birth date. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI)≥28 kg/m 2, and central obesity was defined as waist circumference≥90 cm in men and ≥85 cm in women. We used logistic regression models to assess the effect of severe famine exposure on adult obesity/central obesity. Results:After adjusting for confounding factors, we found that men in the fetal exposure group had higher risk of adult obesity than the control group( OR=2.817, 95% CI 1.120-7.088, P=0.028), women in the fetal exposure group( OR=2.383, 95% CI 1.517-3.743, P=0.000), and infant exposure group( OR=1.554, 95% CI 1.039-2.324, P=0.032) had higher risk of adult obesity than the control group. In addition, compared with the control group, the male fetal exposure group had an increased risk of adult central obesity ( OR=2.440, 95% CI 1.253-4.752, P=0.009), which was unfound in females. Conclusion:Severe famine exposure during earlylife, especially in fetus and female infancy, increases the risk of obesity in their adulthood. In addition, males who experienced severe famine in their fetuses period may have higher risks of central obesity when reaching adulthood.