Based on the community health examination data (1980-1996) for inhabitants of Takasu, a rural town in Central Hokkaido, long-term changes in body mass index and prevalence of anemia were studied.
The results were as follows:
1) Median BMIs increased gradually during the observation period in all age groups in males, whereas in females median BMI did not clearly change in their 50's to 70's and decreased gradually in their 30's and 40's.
2) Median BMIs increased gradually with age in both sexes.
3) Median blood hemoglobin levels did not clearly change during the observation period in both sexes.
4) The rate of iron-deficiency anemia was supposed to increase gradually during the observation period in females in their 30's and 40's.

Objective: Early life events connected with the risk of later disease can occur not only in utero, but also in infancy. In study of the developmental origins of health and disease, the relationship between infantile growth patterns and adolescent body mass index and blood pressure is one of the most important issues to verify.
Materials and Methods: We analyzed the correlation of current body mass index and systolic blood pressure of 168 female college students with their growth patterns in utero and in infancy.
Results: Body mass index and systolic blood pressure in adolescence showed positive correlations with changes in weight-for-age z scores between 1 and 18 months but not with those between 18 and 36 months. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that both change in weight-for-age z scores from 1 to 18 months and body mass index at 1 month were significantly and independently associated with systolic blood pressure in adolescence. Body mass index at 36 months was positively correlated with body mass index in adolescence, while body mass index at birth was negatively correlated with body mass index in adolescence.
Conclusion: Our findings shows that restricted growth in utero and accelerated weight gain in early infancy are associated with the cardiovascular risk factors of high systolic blood pressure and high body mass index in adolescence. In Japan, an increasing proportion of low birth weight infants and accelerated catch-up growth after birth have been observed in recent decades. This might be an alarming harbinger of an increase in diseases related to the developmental origins of health and disease in Japan.