Research area
Julie Aarestrup is a Research Associate in the research group "Life Course Epidemiology ", led by Jennifer L. Baker. She has a Master's degree in Human Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Life Course Epidemiology, both from the University of Copenhagen. Julie has a specific interest in understanding the complexity of both underweight and overweight/obesity in childhood, including the long-term health consequences using large register-based studies. She has e.g. examined how body size among children and adolescents during school ages impacts the risk of different cancer forms as well as several female hormone-related diseases, mainly using the Copenhagen School Health Records Register of ~400,000 children. Her work found that body mass index (BMI) during childhood ages can be used as an indicator of future risks of many diseases occurring later in life.
Furthermore, Julie is a Guest researcher at the Danish Cancer Institute. She is also a board member in the Danish Associations for the Study of Obesity, where she holds the position as treasurer.
Awards
- 2023. Conference travel grant. The Danish Association for the Study of Obesity
- 2022. Best poster presentation. The Nordic Obesity Meeting
- 2019. New Investigator Research Award. The Society for the Study of Human Biology conference on Cohort Methods and Applications in Human Biology
- 2018. New Investigator Childhood Obesity Research Award. European Association for the Study of Obesity
- 2017. Best oral presentation. Annual meeting in The Danish Association for the Study of Obesity
- 2014. The Obesity Society (USA) Pat Simons Young Investigator Travel Grant.
Selected publications
- Aarestrup J, Andersen EW, Pedersen DC, Bjerregaard LG, Baker JL. Disease Patterns Across the Life Course by Childhood BMI Group. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2025 (online ahead of print).
- Pedersen DC, Bjerregaard LG, Dybkær K, Jacobsen RK, Longmore DK, Burgner D, Baker JL, Aarestrup J. Associations between hospitalized infections in the first 24 months of life and risk of cancer in early-mid adulthood. Cancer Epidemiol. 2025; 97.
- Aarestrup J, Pedersen DC, Bjerregaard LG, Jensen BW, Leth-Møller KB, Jacobsen RK, Johnson W, Baker JL. Trends in childhood body mass index between 1936 and 2011 showed that underweight remained more common than obesity among 398,970 Danish school children. Acta Paediatrica. 2024; 113(4):818-826.
- Aarestrup J, Blond K, Vistisen D, Jørgensen ME, Frimodt-Møller M, Jensen BW, Baker JL. Childhood body mass index trajectories and associations with adult-onset chronic kidney disease in Denmark: A population-based cohort study. PLoS Med. 2022; 19(9):e1004098.
- Aarestrup J, Bjerregaard LG, Meyle KD, Pedersen DC, Gjærde LK, Jensen BW, Baker JL. Birthweight, childhood overweight, tallness and growth and adult cancer risks: a review of studies using the Copenhagen School Health Records Register. Int J Obes (Lond).2020;44:1546-60.