| Peer-Reviewed

Influences of Genetic and Early Environmental Factors on Physique and Menarche in Young Japanese Women

Received: 25 May 2022    Accepted: 21 June 2022    Published: 27 June 2022
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Background: There is not enough of necessary data on the relationship between the physical condition at birth and in infancy and the current status for Japanese women. Aim: To study the relationship between young Japanese women's physical condition at birth and in infancy with their current status and investigate genetic and environmental factors' influence on their physique and menarche. Subjects and Methods: Anthropometric measurements were obtained for 204 Japanese women aged 19.4 ± 0.5 y and their condition at birth and in infancy was investigated, using the subjects' "mother-and-child healthcare record book" (boshi-kenko-techo). Results: The subjects' birth height and weight were correlated with their height and weight at 1 month, but not thereafter. Their current (19 y) height was correlated with their height at 3 months and thereafter, and their current weight was correlated with their weight at 3 y. The subjects in the higher 3 y height and weight quartiles had higher current values of height, weight, waist, hip, bone mineral content, and visceral fat area. Weight at 19 y was correlated with the 1.5–3 y weight increase. In a multiple regression analysis, 19 y height was predicted by 1.5 y height, mother's height, father's height, and 3 y height. The subjects with earlier menarche (9–12 y) were significantly taller at 1.5 and 3 y, but not at 19 y; at 19 y, those subjects had also higher values of body mass index (BMI), waist, %fat mass, fat/lean ratio, and visceral fat area, but lower %muscle mass and %skeletal muscle mass. Height at 19 y was correlated with parents' height, but weight and BMI were not correlated with parents' weight and BMI, respectively. The daughters' menarche age was correlated with their mother's menarche age. Nutrition method differences in infancy (breast, formula, or mixed feeding) did not influence the subjects' current physical condition. Conclusion: Japanese women's height at 19 y was influenced by their parents' height, suggesting heritability. The women's 19 y weight and BMI were not correlated with those of their parents, indicating stronger environmental factors (probably lifestyle including diet and exercise) rather than genetic factors. Daughters' adult height but not their weight and BMI may be predicted by the infancy data in mother-and-child healthcare records. Daughters' menarche age was predicted by the mothers' menarche age, suggesting heritable factors.

Published in World Journal of Public Health (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17
Page(s) 79-86
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Physique, Menarche, Young Women, Birth, Infant, Heritability, Environmental Factors

References
[1] Japanese National Health and Nutrition Survey. (2019) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10900000/000687163.pdf (in Japanese).
[2] Booth FW, Roberts CK, Laye MJ. (2012) Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases. Compr Physiol, 2, 1143.
[3] Marzetti E, Calvani R, Tosato M, Cesari M, Di Bari M, Cherubini A, Broccatelli M, Savera G, D'Elia M, Pahor M, Bernabei R, Landi F, SPRINTT Consortium. (2017) Physical activity and exercise as countermeasures to physical frailty and sarcopenia. Aging Clin Exp Res, 29, 35-42.
[4] Todd JA, Robinson RJ. (2003) Osteoporosis and exercise. Postgrad Med J, 79, 320-323.
[5] The Maternal Obesity Childhood Outcomes Study Group. (2018) Common pregnancy complications and risk of childhood obesity – Influence of maternal obesity: An individual participant data meta-analysis. Lancet Child Adolesc Health, 2, 812-821.
[6] Reynolds RM, Osmond C, Phillips DIW, Godfrey KM. (2010) Maternal BMI, parity, and pregnancy weight gain: Influences on offspring adiposity in young adulthood. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 95, 5365-5369.
[7] Yoshida S, Kimura T, Noda M, Takeuchi M, Kawakami K. (2020) Association of maternal prepregnancy weight and early childhood weight with obesity in adolescence: A population based longitudinal cohort study in Japan. Pediatr Obes, 15, e12597.
[8] Sekine M, Yamagami T, Hamanishi S Handa K, Saito T, Nanri S, Kawaminami K, Tokui N, Yoshida K, Kagamimori S. (2002) Parental obesity, lifestyle factors and obesity in preschool children: Results of the Toyama Birth Cohort Study. J Epidemiol, 2, 33-39.
[9] Takahashi E, Yoshida K, Sugimori H, Miyakawa M, Izuno T, Yamagami T, Kagamimori S. (1999) Influence factors on the development of obesity in 3-year-old children based on the Toyama study. Prev Med, 28, 293-296.
[10] Eide MG, Øyen N, Skjærven R, Nilsen ST, Bjerkedal T, Tell GS. (2005) Size at birth and gestational age as predictors of adult height and weight. Epidemiology, 16, 175-181.
[11] Botton J, Heude B, Maccario J, Ducimetière P, Charles MA, the FLVS Study group. (2008) Postnatal weight and height growth velocities at different ages between birth and 5 y and body composition in adolescent boys and girls. Am J Clin Nutr, 87, 1760-1768.
[12] Prentice P, Ong KK, Schoemaker MH, van Tol EAF, Vervoort J, Hughes JA, Acerini CL, Dunger DB. (2016) Breast milk nutrient content and infancy growth. Acta Paediatr, 105, 641-647.
[13] Workman M, Kelly K. (2011) Heavier birth weight associated with taller height but not age at menarche in US women born 1991–1998. Am J Hum Biol, 23, 305-312.
[14] Morris DH, Jones ME, Schoemaker MJ, Ashworth A, Swerdlow AJ. (2010) Determinants of age at menarche in the UK: Analyses from the Breakthrough Generations Study. Br J Cancer, 103, 1760-1764.
[15] Ahmed ML, Ong KK, Dunger DB. (2009) Childhood obesity and the timing of puberty. Trends Endocrinol Metab, 20, 237-242.
[16] Ong KK, Emmett P, Northstone K, Golding J, Rogers I, Ness AR, Wells JC, Dunger DB. (2009) Infancy weight gain predicts childhood body fat and age at menarche in girls. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 94, 1527-1532.
[17] Maisonet M, Christensen KY, Rubin C, Holmes A, Flanders WD, Heron J, Ong KK, Golding J, McGeehin MA, Marcus M. (2010) Role of prenatal characteristics and early growth on pubertal attainment of British girls. Pediatrics, 126, e591-600.
[18] Wang Y, Dinse GE, Rogan WJ. (2012) Birth weight, early weight gain and pubertal maturation: a longitudinal study. Pediatr Obes, 7, 101-109.
[19] Parson TJ, Power C, Logan S, Summerbell CD. (1999) Childhood predictors of adult obesity: A systematic review. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 23 (Suppl 8), S1-107.
[20] Labayen I, Moreno LA, Blay MG, Blay VA, Mesana MI, González-Gross M, Bueno G, Sarría, A, Bueno. (2006) Early programming of body composition and fat distribution in adolescents. J Nutr, 136, 147-152.
[21] Hulman S, Kushner H, Katz S, Falkner B. (1998) Can cardiovascular risk be predicted by newborn, childhood, and adolescent body size? An examination of longitudinal data in urban African Americans. J Pediatr, 132, 90-97.
[22] Oyama M, Saito T, Nakamura K. (2010) Rapid weight gain in early infancy is associated with adult body fat percentage in young women. Environ Health Prev Med, 15, 381-385.
[23] Must A, Naumova EN, Phillips SM, Blum M, Dawson-Hughes B, Rand WM. (2005) Childhood overweight and maturational timing in the development of adult overweight and fatness: The Newton Girls Study and its follow-up. Pediatrics, 116, 620-627.
[24] Freedman DS, Khan LK, Serdula MK, Dietz WH, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS. (2003) The relation of menarcheal age to obesity in childhood and adulthood: the Bogalusa heart study. BMC Pediatr, 3, 3.
[25] Ong KK, Northstone K, Wells JCK, Rubin C, Ness AR, Golding J, Dunger DB. (2007) Earlier mother's age at menarche predicts rapid infancy growth and childhood obesity. PLoS Med, 4, e132.
[26] Towne B, Czerwinski SA, Demerath EW, Blangero J, Roche AF, Siervogel RM. (2005) Heritability of age at menarche in girls from the Fels Longitudinal Study. Am J Phys Anthropol, 128, 210-219.
[27] Martin CR, Ling P-R, Blackburn GL. (2016) Review of infant feeding: Key features of breast milk and infant formula. Nutrients, 8, 279.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Maiko Kato, Minori Furusawa, Mieko Kagaya, Michitaka Naito. (2022). Influences of Genetic and Early Environmental Factors on Physique and Menarche in Young Japanese Women. World Journal of Public Health, 7(2), 79-86. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Maiko Kato; Minori Furusawa; Mieko Kagaya; Michitaka Naito. Influences of Genetic and Early Environmental Factors on Physique and Menarche in Young Japanese Women. World J. Public Health 2022, 7(2), 79-86. doi: 10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Maiko Kato, Minori Furusawa, Mieko Kagaya, Michitaka Naito. Influences of Genetic and Early Environmental Factors on Physique and Menarche in Young Japanese Women. World J Public Health. 2022;7(2):79-86. doi: 10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17,
      author = {Maiko Kato and Minori Furusawa and Mieko Kagaya and Michitaka Naito},
      title = {Influences of Genetic and Early Environmental Factors on Physique and Menarche in Young Japanese Women},
      journal = {World Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {79-86},
      doi = {10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wjph.20220702.17},
      abstract = {Background: There is not enough of necessary data on the relationship between the physical condition at birth and in infancy and the current status for Japanese women. Aim: To study the relationship between young Japanese women's physical condition at birth and in infancy with their current status and investigate genetic and environmental factors' influence on their physique and menarche. Subjects and Methods: Anthropometric measurements were obtained for 204 Japanese women aged 19.4 ± 0.5 y and their condition at birth and in infancy was investigated, using the subjects' "mother-and-child healthcare record book" (boshi-kenko-techo). Results: The subjects' birth height and weight were correlated with their height and weight at 1 month, but not thereafter. Their current (19 y) height was correlated with their height at 3 months and thereafter, and their current weight was correlated with their weight at 3 y. The subjects in the higher 3 y height and weight quartiles had higher current values of height, weight, waist, hip, bone mineral content, and visceral fat area. Weight at 19 y was correlated with the 1.5–3 y weight increase. In a multiple regression analysis, 19 y height was predicted by 1.5 y height, mother's height, father's height, and 3 y height. The subjects with earlier menarche (9–12 y) were significantly taller at 1.5 and 3 y, but not at 19 y; at 19 y, those subjects had also higher values of body mass index (BMI), waist, %fat mass, fat/lean ratio, and visceral fat area, but lower %muscle mass and %skeletal muscle mass. Height at 19 y was correlated with parents' height, but weight and BMI were not correlated with parents' weight and BMI, respectively. The daughters' menarche age was correlated with their mother's menarche age. Nutrition method differences in infancy (breast, formula, or mixed feeding) did not influence the subjects' current physical condition. Conclusion: Japanese women's height at 19 y was influenced by their parents' height, suggesting heritability. The women's 19 y weight and BMI were not correlated with those of their parents, indicating stronger environmental factors (probably lifestyle including diet and exercise) rather than genetic factors. Daughters' adult height but not their weight and BMI may be predicted by the infancy data in mother-and-child healthcare records. Daughters' menarche age was predicted by the mothers' menarche age, suggesting heritable factors.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Influences of Genetic and Early Environmental Factors on Physique and Menarche in Young Japanese Women
    AU  - Maiko Kato
    AU  - Minori Furusawa
    AU  - Mieko Kagaya
    AU  - Michitaka Naito
    Y1  - 2022/06/27
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17
    DO  - 10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17
    T2  - World Journal of Public Health
    JF  - World Journal of Public Health
    JO  - World Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 79
    EP  - 86
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2637-6059
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wjph.20220702.17
    AB  - Background: There is not enough of necessary data on the relationship between the physical condition at birth and in infancy and the current status for Japanese women. Aim: To study the relationship between young Japanese women's physical condition at birth and in infancy with their current status and investigate genetic and environmental factors' influence on their physique and menarche. Subjects and Methods: Anthropometric measurements were obtained for 204 Japanese women aged 19.4 ± 0.5 y and their condition at birth and in infancy was investigated, using the subjects' "mother-and-child healthcare record book" (boshi-kenko-techo). Results: The subjects' birth height and weight were correlated with their height and weight at 1 month, but not thereafter. Their current (19 y) height was correlated with their height at 3 months and thereafter, and their current weight was correlated with their weight at 3 y. The subjects in the higher 3 y height and weight quartiles had higher current values of height, weight, waist, hip, bone mineral content, and visceral fat area. Weight at 19 y was correlated with the 1.5–3 y weight increase. In a multiple regression analysis, 19 y height was predicted by 1.5 y height, mother's height, father's height, and 3 y height. The subjects with earlier menarche (9–12 y) were significantly taller at 1.5 and 3 y, but not at 19 y; at 19 y, those subjects had also higher values of body mass index (BMI), waist, %fat mass, fat/lean ratio, and visceral fat area, but lower %muscle mass and %skeletal muscle mass. Height at 19 y was correlated with parents' height, but weight and BMI were not correlated with parents' weight and BMI, respectively. The daughters' menarche age was correlated with their mother's menarche age. Nutrition method differences in infancy (breast, formula, or mixed feeding) did not influence the subjects' current physical condition. Conclusion: Japanese women's height at 19 y was influenced by their parents' height, suggesting heritability. The women's 19 y weight and BMI were not correlated with those of their parents, indicating stronger environmental factors (probably lifestyle including diet and exercise) rather than genetic factors. Daughters' adult height but not their weight and BMI may be predicted by the infancy data in mother-and-child healthcare records. Daughters' menarche age was predicted by the mothers' menarche age, suggesting heritable factors.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Division of Nutrition & Health, School & Graduate School of Life Studies, Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nagoya, Japan

  • Division of Nutrition & Health, School & Graduate School of Life Studies, Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nagoya, Japan

  • Division of Nutrition & Health, School & Graduate School of Life Studies, Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nagoya, Japan

  • Division of Nutrition & Health, School & Graduate School of Life Studies, Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nagoya, Japan

  • Sections