DRAFT Australian Dietary Guidelines - Eat For Health

and consistent evidence that dietary patterns that are relatively low in energy density improve
weight loss and weight maintenance in young adults [143].
4.2.1.2 Factors associated with risk of overweight and obesity
Breastfeeding: There is convincing evidence that breastfeeding infants, compared with formula
feeding, is associated with a reduced risk of becoming obese in childhood, adolescence and early
adulthood (Grade A, Section 17.2 in Evidence Report ([14])[773].
Birthweight: Increased birthweight, especially above 4,000g, is associated with increased risk of
overweight or obesity in childhood, adolescence, and later in life (Grade A, Section 17.1 in
Evidence Report [14]) [54, 58, 61, 62, 79, 774, 775]. There is a J- or U-shaped relationship
between birthweight and increased risk of child or adult obesity, with both low birthweight and
high birthweight babies being at increased risk [776].
Childhood weight gain: There is convincing evidence that excessive weight gain relative to height
during childhood is associated with increased risk of being overweight later in life (Grade A,
Section 17.4 in Evidence Report [14]) [58, 777, 778].
There is convincing evidence that parental overweight or obesity is associated with increased risk
of child overweight or obesity. The risk is greater when both rather than one parent is overweight
or obese (Grade A, Section 17.7 in Evidence Report [14]) [49-62].
Maternal smoking: There is evidence that babies born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy,
as an independent risk factor, probably have a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese in
adolescence and adulthood (Grade B, Section 17.5 in Evidence Report [14]) [52, 54, 59-61, 779].
Television: Recent evidence suggests that hours spent watching television by children is associated
with increased risk of overweight or obesity (Grade C, Section 17.3 in Evidence Report [14]) [49,
60, 64-71, 780-782]. Media use, including television viewing, may displace time children spend in
physical activities [782, 783] and eating meals and snacks in front of television may also be
associated with increased energy intake [784].
Socioeconomic status: There is evidence from developed countries to suggest that a low family
income or socioeconomic status is associated with increased risk of overweight or obesity during
childhood, adolescence and young adulthood (Grade C, Section 17.9 in Evidence Report [14]) [49,
52, 55, 64, 65, 68, 72-74]. Similarly the evidence suggests that low socio-economic status is
associated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity (Grade C, Section 17.10 in Evidence
Report [14]) [59, 62, 775, 785-788].
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