Maternal One-Carbon Nutrient Intake and Risk of Being Overweight or Obese in Their Offspring-A Transgenerational...

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Pediatric Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Maternal diet during pregnancy influences offspring's long-term health, including weight development.
• Specific nutrients like B vitamins, choline, and their derivatives are crucial for fetal development.
• Understanding these associations can inform public health recommendations for healthy pregnancies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between maternal intake of specific nutrients and offspring weight outcomes from birth to early adulthood.
• To examine associations with folate, B12, B6, B2, methionine, choline, phosphatidylcholine, and betaine.
• To explore potential interactions with red meat intake.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 2454 mother-child pairs from the Nurses' Health Study II and Growing Up Today Study.
• Maternal nutrient intake assessed via food frequency questionnaires.
• Offspring weight outcomes included birth weight, childhood body size, and repeated BMI measurements.

Main Results:

• Higher maternal phosphatidylcholine intake was associated with an increased risk of offspring ever being overweight (RRQ5vsQ1 = 1.16).
• This association was significantly stronger in offspring of mothers with high red meat intake (RRQ5vsQ1 = 1.50).
• No significant association was observed for mothers with low red meat intake.

Conclusions:

• Maternal phosphatidylcholine intake during the peri-pregnancy period may be linked to an elevated risk of offspring overweight.
• The interaction with high red meat intake suggests a complex interplay of dietary factors.
• Further research is warranted to confirm these findings and elucidate underlying mechanisms.