Responsiveness in newborn infants of overweight and normal weight parents

Abstract

In exploration of the relation between obesity and heightened responsiveness to prominent stimuli, an examination was made of the visual and taste responsiveness of 1–3 day old babies whose parents were both overweight or were both of normal weight. Twelve infants of overweight parentage (OP) and 12 infants of normal weight parentage (NP) were presented with three trials with a pair of red stripes, and with three different concentrations of a glucose solution followed by sterile water. Results indicated differences in visual and taste responsiveness between NP and OP babies. OP babies' average responses to water following glucose were lower than those of NP babies. Presented with two stripes in the visual field, OP babies shifted their gaze significantly more often and with greater magnitude than NP babies did. NP and OP babies did not differ significantly on a variety of physical and developmental measures; estimated gestational age, firthweight, skinfold thickness (SFT), and weight/length2 (BMI) were similar for the two groups. Supplemental analyses of the taste data, classifying babies according to SFT and BMI, however, indicated that while most babies preferred glucose solutions of increasing concentration, “thin” babies did not.