Infants with infections requiring medical care gained more weight and had higher obesity odds at ages 4 to 6 and 10 to 15, according to a Southern California study.
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The study analyzed data from 66,870 children aged 4 to 6 and 46,599 children aged 10 to 15, excluding those born prematurely or with low birth weight.
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Obesity was defined as a body mass index above the 95th percentile for age and sex, with rates increasing from 20% in uninfected children to 27% in treated infection cases.
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Children with untreated infections had 9% higher odds of obesity at ages 4 to 6 and 11% higher at ages 10 to 15 compared to those without infections.
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The study suggests that early infections may account for 2.4% to 10% of obesity in the population, but it does not establish causation or recommend treatment changes.
