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Maternal Mediterranean Diet during Pregnancy and Adiposity from Early Childhood through Preadolescence
Sarah Gonzalez-Nahm1, Emily Griffith2, Rachel L Maguire3
1Department of Nutrition, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA.
Insights
Maternal diet during pregnancy did not generally impact child adiposity. However, low adherence to a Mediterranean diet was linked to higher body mass index (BMI) trajectories in White children, suggesting race-ethnic specific effects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Maternal Health
- Childhood Obesity
Background:
- Maternal diet during pregnancy is a critical factor influencing child development.
- Understanding the long-term effects of maternal dietary patterns on child adiposity is essential for public health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal associations between maternal diet during pregnancy and child adiposity from ages 2 to 12 years.
- To explore race/ethnicity as a potential moderator of these associations.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study analyzing child body mass index (BMI) trajectories from ages 2 to 12 years.
- Repeated measures linear regression and logistic regression models were employed.
- Maternal adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was assessed, with interactions by race/ethnicity explored.
Main Results:
- No overall association was found between maternal diet during pregnancy and child adiposity.
- Race-ethnic specific analysis revealed that low maternal adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with higher child BMI trajectories among White children (β = -0.67; p = 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Maternal diet's influence on child BMI trajectories may be race/ethnic-specific.
- Cultural and socioeconomic factors likely mediate these race-ethnic specific effects.
- Intervention strategies should consider these nuanced influences.
Objective:
To assess the longitudinal associations between maternal diet during pregnancy and child adiposity between ages 2 and 12 years.
Methods:
Repeated measures linear regression models with autoregressive covariance were used to assess the association between maternal diet and child body mass index (BMI) trajectories between ages 2 and 12 years. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between maternal diet and likelihood of child BMI greater than the 85th percentile, as well as the association between age at adiposity rebound and the likelihood of subsequent overweight/obesity. Additionally, multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between maternal diet and child age at adiposity rebound. Interactions with race/ethnicity were explored.
Results:
There was no association between maternal diet during pregnancy and child adiposity, but race-ethnic specific analyses revealed that compared to a high maternal adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet, a low adherence was associated with a higher BMI trajectory among White children (β = -0.67; p = 0.01).
Conclusions:
Maternal diet during pregnancy may influence child BMI trajectories in race/ethnic-specific ways that likely stem from cultural and socioeconomic factors that should be considered when designing interventions.
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