title: Gestational and early life influences on infant body composition at 1 year.
abstract: Excess weight gain during both pre- and postnatal life increases risk for obesity in later life. Although a number of gestational and early life contributors to this effect have been identified, there is a dearth of research to examine whether gestational factors and weight gain velocity in infancy exert independent effects on subsequent body composition and fat distribution.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that birth weight, as a proxy of prenatal weight gain, and rate of weight gain before 6 months would be associated with total and truncal adiposity at 12 months of age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy, term infants (N = 47) were enrolled in the study and rate of weight gain (g/day) was assessed at 0-3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total and regional body composition were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at 12 months. Stepwise linear regression modeling indicated that lean mass at 12 months, after adjusting for child length, was predicted by rate of weight gain during each discrete period of infancy (P < 0.05), and by maternal pre-pregnancy BMI (P < 0.05). Total fat mass at 12 months was predicted by rate of weight gain during each discrete period (P < 0.01), and by older maternal age at delivery (P < 0.05). Trunk fat mass at 12 months, after adjusting for leg fat mass, was predicted by rate of weight gain from 0-3 months and 3-6 months (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that growth during early infancy may be a critical predictor of subsequent body composition and truncal fat distribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. pchandle@uab.edu
authors.forename: Paula C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Chandler-Laney
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Gower
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Fields
mesh_terms: D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon; D000273:Adipose Tissue; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001823:Body Composition; D050218:Body Fat Distribution; D001825:Body Fluid Compartments; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012016:Reference Values; D060726:Torso; D015430:Weight Gain