Fetal growth and hyperinsulinaemia in adult life

Martyn, Christopher; Hales, C. N.; Barker, Djp; Jespersen, S.

doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-9136(199808)15:8<688::aid-dia649>3.0.co;2-i

Cited by 37 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…A number of studies have now shown that birthweight is inversely associated with the risk of developing a number of disorders in adult life, including coronary heart disease, 1,2 hypertension, 3 noninsulin dependent diabetes [4][5][6] and syndrome X. 7 Obesity and a central pattern of fat distribution are important risk factors for these disorders.…”

Section: Introductioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

The influence of birthweight and intrauterine environment on adiposity and fat distribution in later life

2003

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OBJECTIVE:To review the literature on the association between birthweight and body mass index (BMI) and obesity in later life. METHODS: Included in the review were papers appearing in Medline since 1966 and identified using the search terms obesity, body fat, waist, body constitution, birthweight and birth weight. Further papers were identified by examining bibliographies. RESULTS: There is good evidence that there is an association between birthweight and subsequent BMI and overweight in young adults and children, which is linear and positive in some studies and J-or U-shaped in others. The evidence is less strong for middle-aged subjects. Studies that have assessed lean body mass (LBM) and fat body mass have tended to find that birthweight is positively associated with LBM and negatively associated with relative adiposity. This suggests that the association between birthweight and BMI/overweight does not necessarily reflect increased adiposity at higher birthweights. On controlling for current body mass there is fairly consistent evidence of a negative association between birthweight and a central pattern of fat distribution as measured by central:peripheral skinfold ratios. It has been suggested that the prenatal period is a 'critical' period for the development of adiposity, but it is unclear how far associations between birthweight and subsequent body habitus are genetic in origin and how far they result from intrauterine 'programming'. Two lines of evidence would suggest that the association is predominantly genetic. Studies of monozygotic twins have found environmentally determined differences in birthweight to be unrelated to subsequent BMI, and the association between birthweight and BMI is substantially reduced on controlling for parental BMI. However, some evidence of an influence of intrauterine environment on later obesity comes from studies of subjects who were exposed in utero to the effects of diabetes, famine conditions or smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The reasons for the positive association between birthweight and BMI remain unclear. More studies including accurate measurement of body composition are needed to assess how far this relation is accounted for by changes in fat mass or by changes in lean mass. Studies with accurate measures of parental BMI would also be useful in assessing the importance of this confounder.

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Section: Introductioncontrasting

confidence: 63%

The influence of birthweight and intrauterine environment on adiposity and fat distribution in later life

2003

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“…To these we can now add high PAI-1 activity, a mediator of impaired fibrinolysis. The relations of low birth weight with a high waist:hip ratio and truncal subcutaneous fat distribution, present in this study, have in previous studies been inconsistent [8,26,27] and less frequently investigated [15], respectively. Low birth weight predicts a smaller hip but not a larger waist in this study and thus the inverse relation of birth weight with the waist:hip ratio does not reflect an association with central adiposity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Birth weight and the insulin resistance syndrome: association of low birth weight with truncal obesity and raised plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 but not with abdominal obesity or plasma lipid disturbances

et al. 2000

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“…Some 3,4,7 but not all 5,11,14 previous studies that have examined the relationship between birth weight and waist -hip ratio have found a small inverse association after adjustment for current body size. Law et al 3 interpreted this association as evidence of a link between fetal growth and abdominal fatness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birth weight, childhood growth and abdominal obesity in adult life

Kuh

Hardy

Chaturvedi³

et al. 2002

Int J Obes

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OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of adult abdominal obesity to birth weight, childhood growth and lifetime socioeconomic circumstances. METHODS: A cohort of 3200 men and women with measured waist and hip circumference, height and weight at age 43 who have been followed since their birth in March 1946 in England, Scotland and Wales. Regression models were used to examine mean waist -hip ratio and waist circumference in relation to prospective measures of birth weight, weight relative to height in childhood at ages 4, 7, 11 and 15 and adult body mass index, and to test the independent and interactive nature of the associations and adjust for childhood and adult social class. RESULTS: There was a small inverse effect of birth weight on waist -hip ratio (P ¼ 0.037) but not waist circumference in women, after adjustment for current body size. Relative weight at age 7 was inversely related to waist -hip ratio and waist circumference in men (P < 0.001 for both) and waist circumference in women (P ¼ 0.007) after adjustment for current body size. These relationships were attenuated in men of large body mass index (P < 0.01 for interactions between relative weight at 7 y and body mass index in both cases) but were not modified by birth weight. Relative weights at other ages showed similar patterns to those observed at age 7, the effect being weakest at age 4. These findings were independent of lifetime socioeconomic circumstances. CONCLUSION: This study found a small prenatal inverse effect of fetal growth on adult waist -hip ratio due to a reduced hip size. There was also an inverse postnatal effect of childhood growth such that for any given adult body size those who had been lighter in childhood were more at risk of abdominal obesity. These relationships were independent of childhood socioeconomic circumstances and support the idea that insulin resistance may be linked to low weight in childhood.

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Fetal growth and hyperinsulinaemia in adult life

Cited by 37 publications

References 10 publications

The influence of birthweight and intrauterine environment on adiposity and fat distribution in later life

The influence of birthweight and intrauterine environment on adiposity and fat distribution in later life

Birth weight and the insulin resistance syndrome: association of low birth weight with truncal obesity and raised plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 but not with abdominal obesity or plasma lipid disturbances

Birth weight, childhood growth and abdominal obesity in adult life

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