Aim
Premature birth is a worldwide problem and increases the risk of chronic disease later in life. Prematurely born infants may have a high percentage of body fat at term‐equivalent age, but it is unclear if this characteristic is maintained in childhood. Therefore, we compared the size and body composition of four‐year‐old prematurely born children to such values of full‐term controls.
Methods
Between 2013 and 2015, we assessed weight, height, fat mass and fat‐free mass, using air displacement plethysmography in 188 reasonably healthy prematurely born four‐year‐olds (98 boys).
Results
At four years of age, prematurely born children (gestational weeks at birth: 23.3‐36.9) tended to be lighter and shorter and to contain less fat mass and fat‐free mass than did full‐term controls. The gestational age at birth of the prematurely born children correlated positively and significantly (P < .05) with height, weight, body mass index, fat mass (kg, %), fat mass index and fat‐free mass (kg) in girls but not in boys.
Conclusion
Prematurity was not associated with increased body fatness in our four‐year‐olds. Our findings are relevant in relation to previously published results showing that premature birth is associated with chronic disease later in life.