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Low body adiposity and high leptinemia in breast-fed infants born small-for-gestational-age

Lourdes Ibáñez1, Giorgia Sebastiani, Marta Diaz

  • 1Endocrinology Unit, Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. libanez@hsjdbcn.org

The Journal of Pediatrics
|December 17, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Breast-fed infants born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) had lower body fat but higher leptin levels in early infancy. This suggests a potential programming for later adult overweight in SGA infants.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology
  • Infant nutrition
  • Metabolic programming

Background:

  • Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants are at increased risk for metabolic complications.
  • Early life factors, including nutrition, significantly influence long-term health outcomes.
  • Adiposity and hormonal profiles in infancy may predict later metabolic health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate adiposity and leptin levels in breast-fed infants born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) compared to appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) infants.
  • To explore the potential role of early infant hyperleptinemia in metabolic programming from fetal underweight to adult overweight.

Main Methods:

  • Comparison of adiposity measurements in breast-fed SGA infants (n=28) and AGA infants (n=46) during early infancy.
  • Measurement of circulating leptin levels at 4 months of age in both infant groups.

Main Results:

  • SGA infants exhibited lower adiposity compared to AGA infants.
  • SGA infants demonstrated significantly higher circulating leptin levels (2-fold increase, P < .001) at 4 months of age.
  • A paradoxical hyperleptinemia was observed in SGA infants despite lower adiposity.

Conclusions:

  • Early infancy adiposity and leptin levels differ between SGA and AGA infants.
  • Paradoxical hyperleptinemia in SGA infants may be an early marker for metabolic programming.
  • This programming could link fetal underweight to an increased risk of adult overweight.

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