title: Increased neonatal fat mass, not lean body mass, is associated with maternal obesity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to compare body composition measures in neonates of women who were overweight/obese (body mass index, > or = 25 kg/m2) versus women who were lean/average (body mass index, < 25 kg/m2), all of whom had normal glucose tolerance levels.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-six neonates (34 female and 42 male) of singleton pregnancies of pregravid overweight/obese women and 144 neonates (67 female and 77 male) of lean/average women were assessed with anthropometric measures and total body electrical conductivity evaluation of body composition at birth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a borderline increase in birthweight (3436 +/- 567 g vs 3284 +/- 534 g; P = .051) but not lean body mass (3020 +/- 410 g vs 2950 +/- 400 g; P = .23) in the overweight/obese versus lean/average weight groups. However, there were significant increases in percent body fat (11.6% +/- 4.7% vs 9.7 +/- 4.3%; P = .003) and fat mass (420 +/- 220 g vs 380 +/- 170 g; P = .01) in neonates of overweight/obese women versus lean/average weight women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overweight/obese women with normal glucose tolerance levels have neonates who are heavier than lean/average weight women because of increased adiposity. We speculate that this increased obesity in offspring of obese women with normal glucose tolerance levels is a significant risk for adolescent obesity and components of the metabolic syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Biology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Division, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA. mark.f.sewell@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Mark F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Sewell
authors.forename: Larraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huston-Presley
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Super
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Catalano
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001823:Body Composition; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis