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Excessive pregnancy weight gain increased risk for obese offspring
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Women who gain excessive weight during pregnancy could increase the risk for having overweight offspring, according to data from a population-based study.
Varying amounts of weight gain during pregnancy correlated to a 0.43 kg/m2 difference in childhood BMI, according to David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, of Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues.
“This study suggests that high pregnancy weight gain increases body weight in childhood and that measures to limit pregnancy weight gain may help prevent obesity in the subsequent generation,” they wrote.
David S. Ludwig
The researchers utilized live birth data recorded in Arkansas, matched with state-mandated data on childhood BMI collected in public schools from 2003 to 2011. They assessed 42,133 women who had more than one pregnancy and their 91,045 overweight or obese offspring (BMI ≥85th percentile, at a mean age of 11.9 years).
Childhood BMI increased by 0.022 (95% CI, 0.0134-0.0306) and the OR of overweight/obesity increased by 1.007 (95% CI, 1.003-1.012) for every additional kilogram of pregnancy weight gain, according to data.
The link between pregnancy weight gain and childhood BMI increased upon adjustments for birth weight. These data remained significant (0.0143 kg/m2 per kilogram of pregnancy weight gain; 95% CI, 0.0057-0.0229), researchers wrote.
“However, in view of the observational nature of this study, additional research will be required to assess the relevance of these findings to obesity prevention on a public health basis,” Ludwig and colleagues wrote.
Disclosure: Ludwig reports grants from the NIH and foundations for obesity-related research, mentoring, and patient care; travel grants from academic centers and professional associations for lectures; royalties from a book about childhood obesity, and a member of the editorial board for PLOS Medicine. All other researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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