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Parental physical and lifestyle factors and their association with newborn body composition

F P McCarthy1,2, A S Khashan3,4, D Murray3,5

  • 1The Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT), Cork University Maternity Hospital, University College Cork, Wilton, Cork, Ireland. fergus.mccarthy@kcl.ac.uk.

BJOG : an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
|April 23, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Maternal factors like body mass index and smoking influence newborn body fat. Female infants also tend to have higher body fat percentages at birth.

Area of Science:

  • Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Parental physical characteristics and lifestyle choices can impact fetal development and neonatal outcomes.
  • Understanding these determinants is crucial for early identification of potential health risks in newborns.
  • Neonatal body composition is an important indicator of future health and development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between parental physical and lifestyle factors and newborn body composition.
  • To identify key maternal and paternal determinants influencing neonatal body fat percentage.
  • To provide insights for targeted interventions aimed at optimizing neonatal health.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective birth cohort study involving 1243 infants.
  • Maternal and paternal physical and lifestyle factors were assessed.
  • Neonatal body fat percentage was measured within 48 hours of birth using air displacement plethysmography.

Main Results:

  • Increased maternal body mass index and waist-to-height ratio were associated with higher neonatal body fat percentage.
  • Maternal smoking was linked to reduced neonatal body fat percentage.
  • Female infants exhibited higher body fat percentages compared to male infants.
  • No significant associations were found between paternal factors (BMI, age, smoking) and neonatal body fat percentage.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal factors, including BMI, waist-to-height ratio, and smoking status, significantly influence neonatal body fat percentage.
  • Infant sex is also a determinant of neonatal body composition.
  • These findings highlight the importance of maternal health and lifestyle during pregnancy for neonatal body composition.
Abstract

Keywords:
Body fat compositionlifestyle determinantsnewborn body compositionsmoking

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