Longitudinal body composition of children born to mothers with normal weight, overweight, and obesity

Abstract

Objective: The longitudinal trajectories of body composition of children born to mothers with normal weight, overweight, and obesity have not been evaluated using precise body composition methods. This study investigated the relationship between maternal prepregnancy BMI and offspring body composition trajectories during the first 6 years of life. Methods: Healthy infants (N 5 325) were assessed longitudinally (at ages 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 years) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Mixed-effects regression for repeated measures was used to model each continuous outcome as a function of maternal BMI and covariates (race, gestational age, birth weight, and mode of infant feeding).Results: Maternal obesity differentially impacted body fat, but not bone mineral content or density, of girls and boys. Boys born to mothers with obesity have higher body fat from ages 2-6 years compared to boys born to normal-weight and overweight mothers (P < 0.05), whereas body composition of girls born to mothers with obesity was not different across groups during the first 6 years of life (P > 0.05).Conclusions: This clinical observational study demonstrates a sexual dimorphism in offspring body composition until age 6 years based on maternal BMI, with a greater effect of maternal adiposity seen in boys than in girls.

Maternal obesity and offspring body composition by indirect methods: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Ten studies were conducted in the United States 5,6,29,30,32,33,34,35,36,37 , two in the United Kingdom 28,38 , two in Denmark 32,39 , one in Australia 27 , one in Brazil 31 , and one in Portugal 40 ( Table 1). The number of participants in the cohorts ranged from 78 34 to 3,263 38 .…”

“…Although these studies applied different inclusion and exclusion criteria, all consistently excluded premature newborns, those with congenital abnormalities, offspring of mothers with a history of pregestational or gestational diabetes, and children with chronic diseases. With the exception of five studies 27,29,31,35,36 , all other studies included only Caucasian participants.…”

“…Eight studies measured body composition in newborns 5,6,27,29,32,33,37,40 , whilst all other studies measured body composition in childhood (2-11 years of age). The methods for the assessment of body composition included DEXA in eight studies 28,30,32,34,35,36,38,39 , ADP in seven 5,6,27,31,33,37,38 and TOBEC in one 29 (Table 2). …”

Low Adherence to Mediterranean Diet in Portugal: Pregnant Women Nutrition in Portugal and its Repercussions

“…In experimental models, strong maternal programming of adiposity in male offspring but not in female offspring was described. 44,45 In humans, fat mass of mother have been associated either to male, 30,46 or to female offspring adiposity. 47 Nested within the same aforementioned cross-sectional study on 100 mother-infant pairs, the adjusted effect of longchain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) intake during pregnancy on the adiposity of offspring was also evaluated early after birth.…”

“…This suggests that high GWG may be a latter sign of prenatal programming of adipogenesis. 32,46 A systematic review of 23 cohort studies examined the independent association of GWG with overweight status in offspring aged two to 18.9 years and suggested that GWG is a potential risk factor for childhood obesity. 49 In a recent cohort study enrolling 977 mother-infant pairs, different effects related to timing of excessive GWG were found.…”