Maternal Lipid Concentrations during Early Pregnancy and Eating Behaviour and Energy Intake in the Offspring.

Anna Dieberger,Aniko Korosi,Tanja Vrijkotte,Susanne De Rooij

doi:10.3390/nu10081026

Abstract

Worldwide, childhood obesity is rapidly increasing, making it a pressing public health issue. Obesity is strongly linked to eating behaviour and energy intake but little is known about their prenatal determinants. In an exploratory study of data collected within the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) study, we hypothesized that intra-uterine exposure to increased lipids is associated with adverse eating behaviour and increased energy intake in the offspring at age 5. During early gestation, a non-fasting blood sample was taken from 1463 non-diabetic Dutch women, including: total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) and Apolipoprotein B (ApoB). Eating behaviour, measured using the Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, included food approaching (enjoyment of food, food responsiveness) and food avoidant behaviour (satiety responsiveness, slowness of eating). Energy intake (total energy, fat and carbohydrate intake) was measured using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Associations were analysed using multivariable linear regression. Increased maternal TC concentrations were associated with lower enjoyment of food, higher satiety responsiveness and increased slowness of eating, as well as decreased kcal and fat intake in the offspring. Elevated ApoA1 was associated with increased slowness of eating, lower enjoyment of food and lower kcal, fat and carbohydrate intake. ApoB was positively associated with satiety responsiveness and slowness of eating. Higher TG concentrations were associated with higher food responsiveness. Maternal FFA did not show significant associations. Findings demonstrated that the maternal prenatal lipid profile was associated with offspring’s eating behaviour and energy intake, although not always in the hypothesized direction.

Highlights

The global prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is steadily on the rise, showing an increase in obesity from 0.7% to 5.6% in girls and from 0.9% to 7.8% in boys worldwide between 1975 and 2016 [1]
We have recently shown that maternal lipid concentrations, such as total cholesterol, triglycerides, apolipoprotein B and free fatty acids, are positively associated with the offspring’s body composition at the age of five [22]
We found that maternal prenatal total cholesterol (TC), Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) and Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) were negatively associated with adverse eating behaviour and food intake in the offspring, while maternal TG concentrations were positively associated with food responsiveness in the offspring at the age of five

Summary

Introduction

The global prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity is steadily on the rise, showing an increase in obesity from 0.7% to 5.6% in girls and from 0.9% to 7.8% in boys worldwide between 1975 and 2016 [1]. Not every individual is turning obese, despite being exposed to the same obesogenic environment [6] This could be due to a variation in perceptiveness to these environmental exposures, expressed as differences in eating behaviour [6]. Eating behaviour regulates the selection and preference of foods as well as managing timing and quantity of food intake [7]. It is steered largely by the central nervous system [5] and its development is influenced by genetic as well as environmental factors [6]. Several observational studies have confirmed an association between adverse eating behaviour and energy intake [9], weight [10] and obesity in children [11]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion