Abstract
Background:
Infants born with a higher birth weight have long been associated with an increased
incidence of developing the metabolic syndrome starting from early childhood and persisting
into adult life. Such risk factors include genetic tendencies as well as environmental
factors. Of these, certain maternal anthropometric characteristics such as obesity
or carbohydrate intolerance alter the intrauterine environment to one of nutritional
plenty, thus impacting on intrauterine development. This hypernutrition pathway has
led to the hypothesis of ‘fuel mediated teratogenesis’ and an obesogenic environment.
Aims:
The aim was to identify a relationship across 3 generations relating to body weight
and birth weight in order to identify whether a genetic and/or nutritional role are
involved in the observed transmission.
Methods/Materials:
The study utilized 2 clinical databases. The first consisted of a cohort of 182 women
born in 1987 and who delivered a child between 2004–2010 [2nd Generation]. A total of 233 infants were born [3rd Generation]. This was further linked to another database of women who had delivered
a child in 1987 [1st Generation]. The birth weight of the 2nd and 3rd generations and the pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) of the 1st and 2nd generation were registered as was the development of features of the metabolic syndrome
in the 1st generation population. The 1st generation population was subdivided into 2 groups based on the BMI: BMI <25 kg/m2 (n=76) and BMI >=25 kg/m2 (n=106). The mean birth weights and pre-pregnancy BMI of the subsequent generations
were compared using the student t-test.
Results:
There was no direct transgenerational link between the first generation BMI and third
generation birth weight. Rather, birth weight was directly linked to maternal BMI.
Furthermore in this study we also studied the presence of metabolic syndrome in first
generation mothers. The presence or absence of metabolic syndrome did not cause any
statistically significant difference in the birth weight of 2nd and 3rd generations.
Conclusions:
This study supports previous reports that environmental factors play a key role in
determining fetal birth weight. Identifying women with a higher pre-pregnancy BMI
and educating them with regards to dietary modification in order to reduce body weight
prior to pregnancy would contribute towards less adverse outcomes to the mother and
her child in both the short and the long term.
Key words
fetal birth weight - body mass index - metabolic syndrome
