High birth weight and obesity—a vicious circle across generations

Abstract

Rates of high birth weight infants, overweight and obese children and adults are increasing. The associations between birth weight and adult weight may have consequences for the obesity epidemic across generations. We examined the association between mothers' birth weight for gestational age and adult body mass index (BMI) and these factors' joint effect on risk of having a large-for-gestational-age (LGA) offspring (4 þ 2 s.d. above the mean). DESIGN: A cohort of 162 676 mothers and their first-born offspring with birth information recorded on mothers and offspring in the nationwide Swedish Medical Birth Register 1973-2006. RESULTS: Compared with mothers with appropriate birth weight for gestational age (AGA; À1 to þ 1 s.d.), mothers born LGA had increased risks of overweight (BMI 25.0-29.9; odds ratio (OR), 1.50; 95% CI 1.39-1.61), obesity class I (BMI 30.0-34.9; OR 1.77; 95% CI 1.59-1.98), obesity class II (BMI 35.0-39.9; OR 2.77; 95% CI 2.37-3.24) and obesity class III (BMI X40.0; OR 2.04; 95% CI 1.49-2.80). In each stratum of mother's birth weight for gestational age, risk of having an LGA offspring increased with mother's BMI. The risk of an LGA offspring was highest among women with a high (X30) BMI who also had a high birth weight for gestational age (4 þ 1 s.d.). In these groups, the ORs for LGA offspring ranged from 5 to 14 when compared with mothers born AGA with normal BMI (p24.9). However, the strongest increase in risk by BMI was seen among mothers born SGA: the OR of having an LGA offspring was 13 times as high among SGA mothers with BMI X35.0 compared with the OR among SGA mothers with normal BMI (ORs ¼ 4.61 and 0.35, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal conditions are important for the obesity epidemic. Prevention of LGA births may contribute to curtail the intergenerational vicious cycle of obesity.

Effect of Post-Natal Catch-Down and Feeding Practices on Auxology, Body Composition and Muscle Function in Children Born Large-For-Gestational-Age

“…These results correspond with two Swedish studies in 2006 [24] and 2012 [25]. The retrospective epidemiologic study by Ahlsson et al [24] depict that females born…”

Transiciones en contexto: hallazgos vinculados a migración rural-urbana y enfermedades no transmisibles en Perú

“…Trabajos recientes ilustran la transmisión intergeneracional del riesgo para enfermedades crónicas no transmisibles. Varios estudios han mostrado que madres con una talla más corta tienen un riesgo elevado para diabetes gestacional (34)(35)(36) , el que podría incrementar el riesgo de diabetes de sus futuros descendientes (37) . Dado que la talla es un elemento insensible al cambio a través de nutrición luego de la infancia y adolescencia, los migrantes podrían mantener una talla más corta que los individuos urbanos.…”

Are we attacking the wrong targets in the fight against obesity?: the importance of intervention in women of childbearing age

“…1,2 The evidence is now overwhelming that the risk is increased for large for gestational age (LGA) infants to be born to women who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant, who gain excess weight during pregnancy, who smoke during pregnancy, who develop gestational diabetes or who are older at first pregnancy. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Being LGA portends a much higher risk of obesity later in childhood and adulthood, with odds ratios as high as 15 compared with normal weight newborns. 1 Black children born LGA were 2.5-fold more likely to be obese at ages 2-5 than average weight babies, and had a 30% prevalence of obesity.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Being LGA portends a much higher risk of obesity later in childhood and adulthood, with odds ratios as high as 15 compared with normal weight newborns. 1 Black children born LGA were 2.5-fold more likely to be obese at ages 2-5 than average weight babies, and had a 30% prevalence of obesity. 3 There is also a clear association between maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain with cardiometabolic risk factors in adult offspring.…”