Intra-uterine and early childhood factors related to weight status at age 3

It has been suggested that the prenatal and early infancy periods may be important times for development of life-long obesity. However, limited research has addressed this issue by examining data prospectively collected from pregnancy through the first years of life. Both maternal obesity and diabetes status have been linked with early childhood overweight, yet the pregnancy-specific mechanisms (rather than early childhood or maternal pregravid environmental factors) have yet to be investigated. Presently 22.6% of preschoolers are considered at risk of being overweight and overweight (BMI for age ≥85th percentile) (Hedley et al. 2004). Overweight preschoolers have over four times the likelihood of becoming overweight adults than their thinner peers (Freedman DS, et al. 2005). The overall goal of this proposal is to elucidate the influences of prenatal and early childhood factors on children’s risk of becoming overweight during the preschool years. Data from the PIN studies on 400 children will be used to address the following specific aims and research questions.

Aim 1. To develop a model of the association between intrauterine and early childhood factors and the development of overweight status at age 3.
a) To what extent does maternal pregravid BMI and glucose tolerance contribute to the child’s overweight status at age 3 after controlling for prenatal behaviors (i.e. diet and physical activity) and early childhood behaviors (i.e., breastfeeding, diet and physical activity)?
b) Are children whose mothers consume a high glycemic index/load diet during the second trimester of pregnancy compared to those with lower glycemic index/loads at higher risk for being overweight at age 3 independent of confounders including maternal glucose tolerance and pregravid weight status?
Aim 2. To examine the potential roles of elevated lipid and leptin levels during pregnancy as a mechanism underlying the programming of childhood overweight status.
a) Do elevated lipid levels as measured by triglycerides, lipid particle size and concentration during the prenatal period predict childhood weight status at age 3?
b) Do high leptin levels during pregnancy predict childhood weight status at age 3?

Principal Investigator: Anna Maria Siega-Riz

Funding Source: Center for Excellence in Children's Nutrition / Mead Johnson

Grant Number: None

Funding Period: 07/01/08-06/30/10

Affiliated Research Projects:
• Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study (PIN)