The researchers followed 5,840 people from birth to the age of 31 in Finland and reveals low birth weight is linked to weight gain and possibly heart disease.
Paul Elliott, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine and head of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Imperial College London and colleagues used a protein called C-reactive protein as a biomarker for general inflammation, which is used to help detect heart disease.
The researchers said that small size at birth and excessive weight gain during adolescence and young adulthood may lead to low-grade inflammation which is associated with an increased risk of developing heart disease.
The researchers found out, after comparing birth weight of children (participants in the Finland 1966 Birth Cohort study) with their C-reactive protein levels at age 31, those who had lower birth weight have higher C-reactive protein levels but those who had higher birth weight had lower C-reactive protein levels.
The researchers conclude that small size at birth and excessive weight gain during adolescence and young adulthood may predispose to low-grade inflammation, which, in turn, is associated with increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
The study is published in Europe's leading cardiology journal, the European Heart Journal.
