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Postnatal development of adipose tissue in normal children on strictly controlled calorie intake
Insights
Maternal obesity or diabetes does not predict infant fat accumulation when calorie intake is controlled. Adiposity at birth does not predict later fatness in infancy, highlighting the importance of controlled nutrition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric endocrinology
- Human physiology
- Nutritional science
Background:
- Infant adipose tissue development is crucial for long-term metabolic health.
- Maternal factors like obesity and diabetes are potential influences on infant adiposity.
- Understanding early fat mass regulation is key to preventing childhood obesity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between birth adiposity and infant fat mass expansion.
- To examine the influence of maternal obesity and diabetes on infant adipose tissue development.
- To analyze fat cell growth and body fat changes from birth to 12 months in infants on controlled diets.
Main Methods:
- A novel method for pediatric fat cell size determination using microsamples.
- Longitudinal study of body composition and fat mass in infants.
- Controlled calorie intake for all participating infants.
Main Results:
- Infant body fat percentage significantly increased in the first 3 months, then decreased.
- No sex-based differences in body weight, fat mass, or fat cell size were observed.
- Maternal obesity or diabetes did not correlate with infant fat mass or adipose tissue development.
- Birth adiposity did not predict subsequent fat accumulation in the first year.
Conclusions:
- Under strictly controlled calorie intake, maternal obesity or diabetes does not influence infant fat accumulation rates.
- Early-life adiposity at birth is not a predictor of later infant fatness.
- Caloric intake is a primary determinant of infant fat mass regulation, overriding maternal metabolic status.
Abstract:
The relations between adipose tissue development at birth, later expansion of fat mass and the behavior of fat mass and fat cell growth from birth to 12 mo of age have been studied in normal children born to normal, obese or diabetic mothers and maintained on strictly controlled calorie intake. A simple method for fat cell size determination on microsamples of fat tissue, specifically designed for small children, is reported. In the first 3 mo of life, a marked increase of fatty tissue from 13.4 +/- 0.4 to 20.3 +/- 0.8 percent of total body mass was observed. Subsequently, a sharp decrease in the relative amount of fat mass occurs, probably related to an increased energy expenditure or to a slightly higher protein content in the diet. No sex related differences in body weight, body fat mass, sum of skinfold thickness or fat cell weight were found throughout the study. No significant differences in body fat mass, sum of skinfold thickness and body fat mass as percent of body weight was observed at birth and at 3 or 6 mo of age in children of obese or gestational diabetic mothers, in comparison with children of normal mothers, and no significant correlation was found between maternal adiposity (sum of skinfold thickness or pre-gravidic overweight) or glucose tolerance (blood glucose area after OGTT) and adipose tissue development in the first 6 mo of life. Thus, in children on strictly controlled intake, obesity or diabetes in the mother do not relate to the rate of fat accumulation. Moreover, no relations were found between adipose tissue development at birth and subsequent rate of fat enlargement in the first year of life. Thus, when the interference of a different calorie intake is excluded, adiposity at birth has no predictive value for possible fatness later in infancy.