Maternal weight and sire group, not caloric intake, influence adipocyte volume in infant female baboons

We tested the hypothesis that overfeeding with a high caloric (concentrated) formula increases growth without influencing adipocyte volume in preweaning infant baboons. Female infant baboons from three sires and 25 dams were fed either 67.5 kcal (normal formula) or 94.5 kcal (concentrated formula)/100 g Similac formula. Immediately before weaning (19 wk), adipocyte volume was measured in biopsied adipose tissue from omentum, flank, and popliteal depots. From birth until weaning, infants fed the concentrated formula consumed 20% more total calories, averaged 15% more calories/kg/wk, and gained 14% more weight than normally fed infants. Adipocyte volume differed significantly among different sites (omentum greater than popliteal greater than flank) and among different sire groups. Increased caloric intake alone did not increase adipocyte volume. There was a small but significant sire by infant formula interaction on adipocyte volume. When fed the concentrated formula, progeny from one sire had larger adipocytes than normally fed infants, whereas progeny from the other two sires had smaller adipocytes or adipocytes that were comparable to infants fed normal formula. Variability in adipocyte volume at 19 wk of age was best accounted for by maternal weight and sire group (omentum R2 = 0.334, p = 0.026; flank R2 = 0.532, p = 0.01; popliteal R2 = 0.482, p = 0.01) and not by caloric intake. These results suggest that the level of triglyceride deposition into adipocytes attained during preweaning growth is determined to a greater extent by genetic and other factors rather than caloric intake.