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Isolation and Differentiation of Primary White and Brown Preadipocytes from Newborn Mice
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Published on: January 25, 2021

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
PubMed

Insights

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.
Abstract

Keywords:
adipocyteearly childhoodhypertrophylow birth weight infants

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