Gestational weight change and childhood body composition trajectories from pregnancy to early adolescence

Elizabeth M Widen; Natalie Burns; Michael Daniels; Grant Backlund; Rachel Rickman; Saralyn Foster; Amy R Nichols; Lori A Hoepner; Eliza W Kinsey; Judyth Ramirez-Carvey; Abeer Hassoun; Frederica P Perera; Radek Bukowski; Andrew G Rundle

doi:10.1002/oby.23367

Gestational weight change and childhood body composition trajectories from pregnancy to early adolescence

Obesity (Silver Spring). 2022 Mar;30(3):707-717. doi: 10.1002/oby.23367. Epub 2022 Feb 9.

Authors

Elizabeth M Widen^{1

2

3

4}, Natalie Burns⁵, Michael Daniels⁵, Grant Backlund⁵, Rachel Rickman^{1

3}, Saralyn Foster^{1

3}, Amy R Nichols¹, Lori A Hoepner^{4

6}, Eliza W Kinsey^{4

7}, Judyth Ramirez-Carvey⁴, Abeer Hassoun⁴, Frederica P Perera⁴, Radek Bukowski², Andrew G Rundle^{4

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Human Ecology, College of Natural Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
² Department of Women's Health, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
³ Dell Pediatric Research Institute, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
⁴ Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.
⁵ Department of Statistics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
⁶ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, USA.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.

Abstract

Objective: A mother-child dyad trajectory model of weight and body composition spanning from conception to adolescence was developed to understand how early life exposures shape childhood body composition.

Methods: African American (49.3%) and Dominican (50.7%) pregnant mothers (n = 337) were enrolled during pregnancy, and their children (47.5% female) were followed from ages 5 to 14. Gestational weight gain (GWG) was abstracted from medical records. Child weight, height, percentage body fat, and waist circumference were measured. GWG and child body composition trajectories were jointly modeled with a flexible latent class model with a class membership component that included prepregnancy BMI.

Results: Four prenatal and child body composition trajectory patterns were identified, and sex-specific patterns were observed for the joint GWG-postnatal body composition trajectories with more distinct patterns among girls but not boys. Girls of mothers with high GWG across gestation had the highest BMI z score, waist circumference, and percentage body fat trajectories from ages 5 to 14; however, boys in this high GWG group did not show similar growth patterns.

Conclusions: Jointly modeled prenatal weight and child body composition trajectories showed sex-specific patterns. Growth patterns from childhood though early adolescence appeared to be more profoundly affected by higher GWG patterns in females, suggesting sex differences in developmental programming.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Body Composition
Body Mass Index
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Gestational Weight Gain*
Humans
Male
Pregnancy
Waist Circumference
Weight Gain*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding