Grant: Project Grant

A third of young Canadians now reach adulthood overweight or obese, a condition that puts them at higher risk for premature death from chronic diseases. Understanding early-life determinants of obesity is thus central to designing public health interventions that increase the proportion of children entering adulthood with healthy weights. Although nutrition is recognized as one of the key modifiable factors for obesity prevention, studies on the long-term relationships between early-life diet and later-life excess weight or later-life dietary habits are lacking. To bridge this gap, our research aims to identify early-life dietary factors that are associated with healthy and unhealthy dietary habits in young adults relative to their weight status. Study participants are young adults taking part in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), under the direction of the Institut de la Statistique du Québec (ISQ). This birth cohort comprises a representative sample of children born in Quebec 20 years ago; 1,750 young adults still actively participate in the study. Over the years, ISQ staff have met with these children and their families to collect data on multiple aspects of child development since birth. We also conducted an extensive nutrition study when the children were aged 4.5 years. We propose this project to assess dietary habits and weight status at age 22. The data collected from birth to early adulthood will enable us to analyze how dietary factors and other determinants active in early childhood are associated with the dietary habits of young adults according to weight status. Findings of this research will reinforce and add to current knowledge about early-life influences on later-life diet and excess weight; allow identifying the ages at which influences are first detectable; identify protective factors that could reduce risks over time; and assess the cumulative effects of a variety of influences prevalent from birth to early adulthood.