Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Oct;12(4):918-28.
doi: 10.1111/mcn.12174. Epub 2015 Mar 5.

Gestational weight gain and obesity, adiposity and body size in African-American and Dominican children in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan

Elizabeth M Widen  1   2   3 , Robin M Whyatt  4 , Lori A Hoepner  4 , Noel T Mueller  5   6 , Judyth Ramirez-Carvey  4 , Sharon E Oberfield  7 , Abeer Hassoun  7 , Frederica P Perera  4 , Dympna Gallagher  8   5 , Andrew G Rundle  6
Affiliations

Gestational weight gain and obesity, adiposity and body size in African-American and Dominican children in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan

Elizabeth M Widen et al. Matern Child Nutr. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Gestational weight gain (GWG) is potentially modifiable and is associated with infant size and body composition; however, long-term effects on childhood obesity have not been reported among multi-ethnic urban populations. We examined the association between GWG and child anthropometric measures and body composition at 7 years [waist circumference (WC), body mass index z-score (BMIZ), obesity (BMIZ ≥95%ile) and bioelectrical impedance analysis estimates of percentage body fat (%fat)] in African-American and Dominican dyads (n = 323) in the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health prospective birth cohort study from 1998 to 2013. Linear and logistic regression evaluated associations between excessive GWG [>Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2009 guidelines] and outcomes, adjusting for pre-pregnancy BMI and covariates. Pre-pregnancy BMI (mean ± standard deviation, all such values) and total GWG were 25.8 ± 6.2 kg m(-2) (45% overweight/obese) and 16.4 ± 7.9 kg (64% > IOM guidelines), respectively. Excessive GWG was associated with higher BMIZ {0.44 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2, 0.7], P < 0.001}, WC [β: 2.9 cm (95% CI: 1.1, 4.6), P = 0.002], %fat at 7 years [β: 2.2% (95% CI: 1.0, 3.5), P = 0.001)] and obesity [odds ratio: 2.93 (95% CI: 1.5, 5.8), P = 0.002]. Pre-pregnancy BMI was positively associated with child size, adiposity and obesity (all P < 0.05). Excessive GWG was highly prevalent and was associated with child obesity, greater percentage body fat and abdominal adiposity. Strategies to support healthy GWG are warranted to promote healthy growth and prevent childhood obesity.

Keywords: body composition; childhood adiposity; childhood obesity; life course; pregnancy; weight gain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual framework. BMI, body mass index.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Participant flow diagram. GWG, gestational weight gain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Black R.E., Victora C.G., Walker S.P., Bhutta Z.A., Christian P., de Onis M. et al (2013) Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low‐income and middle‐income countries. Lancet 382, 427–451. - PubMed
    1. Bodnar L.M., Hutcheon J.A., Platt R.W., Himes K.P., Simhan H.N. & Abrams B. (2011) Should gestational weight gain recommendations be tailored by maternal characteristics? American Journal of Epidemiology 174, 136–146. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bollen K.A., Noble M.D. & Adair L.S. (2013) Are gestational age, birth weight, and birth length indicators of favorable fetal growth conditions? A structural equation analysis of Filipino infants. Statistics in Medicine 32, 2950–2961. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Butte N.F., Ellis K.J., Wong W.W., Hopkinson J.M. & Smith E.O. (2003) Composition of gestational weight gain impacts maternal fat retention and infant birth weight. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 189, 1423–1432. - PubMed
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) 2011 pregnancy nutrition surveillance: summary of trends in maternal health indicators by race/ethnicity. [Online] Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/pednss/pnss_tables/html/pnss_national_table20.htm (Accessed February 2014).

MeSH terms