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Relationships between physical behaviour phenotypes of mothers in pregnancy and their offspring with child body

Erin K Howie1,2, Alexander Nelson3, Joanne A McVeigh2,4

  • 1Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|January 4, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Maternal physical behaviors during pregnancy showed limited links to child behaviors or body composition at 24 months. Higher child activity was linked to lower body fat, suggesting activity

Area of Science:

  • Maternal and child health
  • Behavioral science
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Understanding the influence of maternal behaviors during pregnancy on offspring development is crucial.
  • Physical activity patterns in early life may impact long-term health outcomes.
  • Identifying behavioral phenotypes can inform targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify physical behavior phenotypes in mothers during the first trimester and in their offspring at 24 months of age.
  • To examine the relationships between maternal and child behaviors and child body composition at 24 months.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal analysis of the Glowing cohort (n=159 dyads).
  • Maternal and offspring behaviors (activity, sleep, sedentary time, patternicity) measured via accelerometry.
  • Child body fat assessed using quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance.

Main Results:

  • Three distinct phenotypes identified for mothers and children.
  • No direct relationships found between maternal and child phenotypes.
  • Higher maternal patternicity correlated with higher child patternicity (p=0.001).
  • Higher child activity associated with lower child body fat (p=0.031).

Conclusions:

  • Limited associations exist between maternal pregnancy physical behaviors and child outcomes at 24 months.
  • Child's physical activity is inversely related to body fat.
  • Other factors like diet and current parental activity may be stronger predictors of early childhood outcomes.
Abstract

Keywords:
cohortlongitudinalobesityphysical activitysedentarysleep

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