title: Impact of a mother's weight history on her offspring.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the relationship between maternal lifelong body weight history and anthropometric measurements in the offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied a prospective sample of 48 pregnant women with either gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM, n = 21) or normal glucose tolerance (NGT, n = 27). Reported maternal weight at birth, 20 years of age and 30 years of age, and pre-pregnancy and maximal weight outside pregnancy were obtained by questionnaire. BMI was calculated using data from the questionnaire. Maternal anthropometric parameters were measured during pregnancy. Offspring anthropometrics were obtained at birth and eight weeks later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maternal weight at birth, weight or BMI at 20 years of age and at 30 years of age, and maximal weight or BMI did not differ between groups. In all women, maternal birth weight, BMI at 20 years of age, and maximal BMI correlated with newborn birth weight (ρ = 0.39, 0.37, and 0.27, respectively, P ≤ 0.05), with newborn length (ρ = 0.46, 0.32, and 0.30 respectively, P < 0.05), and with infant weight eight weeks later (ρ = 0.43, 0.30, and 0.31, respectively, P < 0.05). Reported maternal BMI at 30 years of age correlated with infant weight (ρ = 0.31) and cranial circumference (ρ = 0.33) at eight weeks of life (P < 0.05). Besides gestational age, maternal weight at screening was the most significant predictor of infant birth weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Several parameters of maternal weight history were related to offspring anthropometric measurements in early life in a sample of women with and without GDM.
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Research Unit, Laval University Medical Research Center, Quebec City, QC.
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Dubé
authors.forename: Anne-Sophie
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Morisset
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tchernof
authors.forename: S John
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Weisnagel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001786:Blood Glucose; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose