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Infants With Low Birth Weight Have Larger Adipocytes During Early Childhood
Tetsuro Murakawa1, Yuya Nakano1, Akio Ebata1
1Department of Pediatrics, Showa Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.
Pediatric Obesity
|June 12, 2026
Summary
Infants with low birth weight (LBW) have larger adipocytes in early childhood, a potential precursor to insulin resistance. This finding highlights the importance of monitoring LBW infants for metabolic health risks.
Area of Science:
- Metabolic health
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Adipose tissue biology
Background:
- Infants with low birth weight (LBW) face an elevated risk of developing insulin resistance later in life.
- Adipocyte size is a key indicator of metabolic function and can be influenced by early-life factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare adipocyte size in early childhood between infants born with low birth weight and those born appropriate for gestational age at full-term.
- To investigate the relationship between birth weight and adipocyte characteristics in young children.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 92 children (0.8-5.2 years old) undergoing surgery.
- Intraoperative adipose tissue samples were collected and analyzed for mean adipocyte diameter using osmic acid fixation and separation techniques.
Main Results:
- Despite similar body mass index (BMI), the low-birth-weight group exhibited significantly larger mean adipocyte diameters (87.0 μm) compared to the appropriate-for-gestational-age group (74.7 μm).
- Low birth weight and higher BMI at surgery were identified as significant predictors of larger adipocyte size (p < 0.001).
- No association was found between mean adipocyte diameter and key hematological parameters like insulin, adiponectin, or leptin levels.
Conclusions:
- Early childhood is characterized by larger adipocytes in infants born with low birth weight compared to their full-term, appropriate-for-gestational-age peers.
- These findings suggest a potential link between low birth weight, adipocyte morphology, and future metabolic disturbances, warranting further investigation into insulin resistance development.
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