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Can birth weight predict later body composition in anorexia nervosa?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 964–967 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:

The relationship between birth weight and body composition at later stages in life was not studied previously in anorexia nervosa (AN). The aim of the following brief report is to present results concerning the relationship between birth weight and later body composition specifically in AN, and to check if the programming of body composition from birth weight is still detected in severely emaciated AN patients.

SUBJECTS/METHODS:

One hundred and fifty-one female AN patients aged between 13 and 44 were recruited from 11 inpatient treatment facilities in France. Birth weight, body weight and height were obtained. Body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance. Birth weight was significantly correlated to lifetime maximum body mass index (BMI; r=0.211, P=0.009) and significantly correlated to fat-free mass index (r=0.190, P=0.027) but not to fat mass index (FMI).

RESULTS:

This report confirms that even in AN when patients are severely emaciated and where fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) are low, a link between birth weight and FFM and BMI can still be identified, independently from age.

CONCLUSION:

Further studies are needed on larger samples exploring other factors, such as gender, puberty and ethnicity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the persons who helped in the recruitment and the assessments. We also thank the Eiffel Scholarship, the AP-HP PHRC grant, the CNAM-TS and the ANR programme jeune chercheur for their financial support.

Author information

Author notes

  1. L Mattar, C Pichard, N Godart and J-C Melchior: See Appendix.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. INSERM U669, Maison de Solenn, Paris, France

    L Mattar & N Godart

  2. Université Paris-Sud and Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France

    L Mattar & N Godart

  3. Psychiatry Unit, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris 42, Faculté de médecine Paris Descartes, Paris, France

    L Mattar & N Godart

  4. Unité de Nutrition, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil, Genève, Switzerland

    C Pichard

  5. Département de Médecine aiguë, Unité de Nutrition clinique-Maladies infectieuses, Hôpital Raymond Poincaré, Garches, France

    J-C Melchior

  6. Université Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France

    J-C Melchior

Authors
  1. L Mattar
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  2. C Pichard
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  3. N Godart
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  4. J-C Melchior
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EVAN group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L Mattar.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Appendix

Appendix

EVAN group: group still under construction: Sylvie Berthoz, Laura Bignami, Stephanie Bioulac, Corinne Blanchet, Jennifer Carrere, Annaig Courty, Marc Delorme, Karine Doncieux, Jeanne Duclos, Catherine Fayollet, Claire Gayet, Priscille Gerardin, Christine Hassler, Sylvain Lambert, Sylvie Lebecq, Virginie Mourier, Clementine Nordon, Ludovic Place, Marc-Antoine Podlipski, Damien Ringuenet, Morgane Rousselet, Christelle Turuban, Jean-luc Venisse

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Mattar, L., Pichard, C., Godart, N. et al. Can birth weight predict later body composition in anorexia nervosa?. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 964–967 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.21

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