Abstract
This study investigated the effects of maternal changes during pregnancy in diet, exercise, and psychosocial factors on offspring weight parameters at birth and 6 months. In overweight/obese (OW/OB; n = 132) mothers, greater % kcal from sweets early in pregnancy was the strongest, independent predictor of higher weight for age (WFA) (beta = 0.19; P = 0.004), higher odds of macrosomia (OR = 1.1 (1.0–1.2); P = 0.004) andWFA >90th percentile at birth (OR = 1.2 (1.1–1.3); P = 0.002) and higher WFA at 6 months (beta = 0.30; P = 0.002). In normal weight (n = 153) mothers, higher intake of soft drinks was the strongest predictor of higher offspring WFA at birth (beta = 0.16; P = 0.04) but not at 6 months. Prenatal physical activity, depressive symptoms, and sleep-related variables did not significantly predict offspring weight outcomes. Mothers' eating behaviors during pregnancy, especially intake of sweets in OW/OB mothers, may have a lasting effect on child weight.
Highlights
Risk of obesity is shaped, in large part, by early life events starting during gestation
Participants were offspring of women recruited into the Fit for Delivery study, a clinical trial that examined the effects of a lifestyle intervention to reduce excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) in normal weight and overweight/obese women (Clinical Trials no. 01117961) [16]
Based on the 1990 IOM guidelines [17], we classified GWG as “excessive” in normal weight women whose gains were more than 35 pounds (15.9 kg) and overweight (BMI >26 to 29) women whose gains were above 25 pounds (11.4 kg)
Summary
Risk of obesity is shaped, in large part, by early life events starting during gestation. While shared genes account for some of the similarity in maternal and offspring weight, evidence suggests that exposure to the uterine environment of an obese woman itself may directly program offspring obesity [3]. Another independent determinant of offspring weight status is gestational weight gain (GWG). Based on the 1990 IOM guidelines [17], we classified GWG as “excessive” in normal weight women whose gains were more than 35 pounds (15.9 kg) and overweight (BMI >26 to 29) women whose gains were above 25 pounds (11.4 kg). We combined overweight and obese (BMI 29–40) women in our analysis and, set an upper weight gain goal of 25 pounds (11.4 kg) for these heaviest women [19]
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