Exposure to Famine at a Young Age and Unhealthy Lifestyle Behavior Later in Life.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A healthy diet is important for normal growth and development. Exposure to undernutrition during important developmental periods such as childhood and adolescence can have effects later in life. Inhabitants of the west of the Netherlands were exposed to severe undernutrition during the famine in the last winter of the second World War (1944-1945).

Objective

We investigated if exposure of women to the Dutch famine during childhood and adolescence was associated with an unhealthy lifestyle later in life.

Design

We studied 7,525 women from the Prospect-EPIC cohort, recruited in 1993-97 and aged 0-18 years during the Dutch famine. An individual famine score was calculated based on self-reported information about experience of hunger and weight loss. We investig

SUBMITTER: Fransen HP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4887008 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature