In children, an "anticipation of" adiposity rebound is considered an early indicator of the risk of developing adolescent and adult obesity.
Adiposity rebound, literally means rebound of adiposity. This term indicates the physiological process of inversion of the adiposity curve, which normally begins around 6 years of life.
In the infant first, and then in the infant, a gradual increase in BMI values is observed, which continues up to one year of age. Starting from early childhood, therefore from 12 months of life onwards, the BMI values decrease, for then stabilize and start increasing again, on average, at the age of 5-6 years.
Adiposity rebound is defined as the point of the curve - quantified by a specific age - at which the minimum adiposity value is reached before the physiological increase in BMI.
An increase in BMI values before age 5 is considered an early adiposity rebound.
In some studies, a high-protein diet in the first 2 years of life has been shown to be a risk factor for early adiposity rebound. On the other hand, the caloric amount and lipid intake do not seem to have a negative influence in this sense. The same authors hypothesize that the "protein excess determines a stimulus to the secretion of IGF-1, a powerful anabolic hormone that stimulates cell proliferation, with consequent acceleration of growth, increase in muscle mass and" hypertrophy-differentiation of preadipocytes into adipocytes ( hyperplasia of adipose tissue). Another hypothesis suggests that a reduced lipid intake in this age group makes the organism metabolically unprepared to manage the high fat intake in future years, with a greater predisposition to lipid accumulation. Based on these considerations, it is not advisable to reduce the intake of fats in the first years of life, also due to the fact that breast milk has a low protein concentration and a high lipid concentration. A general advice could therefore be to leave the child a certain freedom in food choices, trying - if possible - to protect him from "early encounter with fries, sugary drinks (never before sleeping; also pay attention to some fruit juices) and foods. excessively sweet or salty, otherwise it is likely a flattening of the taste, with a marked preference for "junk foods".
Other studies have pointed the finger at the intake of cow's milk, but to date environmental factors capable of influencing with certainty the age of adiposity rebound have not yet been identified.
Breastfeeding is one of the protective factors against obesity in adolescence and adulthood; obviously, physical activity - which in this period of life will be structured exclusively in the form of play and spontaneous motor experiences - also plays an important role in the prevention of obesity. Attention, however, to excessive weight gains during pregnancy and to smoking, even passive smoking, in pregnant women.
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