title: Weight gain in pregnancy and child weight status from birth to adulthood in the United States.
abstract: High weight gain in pregnancy has been associated with child adiposity, but few studies have assessed the relationship across childhood or in racially/ethnically diverse populations.
  
  
  
  The objectives of the study are to test if weight gain in pregnancy is associated with high birthweight and overweight/obesity in early, middle and late childhood and whether these associations differ by maternal race/ethnicity.
  
  
  
  Mother-child dyads (n = 7539) were included from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, a nationally representative cohort study in the USA (1979-2012). Log-binomial regression models were used to analyse associations between weight gain and the outcomes: high birthweight (>4000 g) and overweight/obesity at ages 2-5, 6-11 and 12-19 years.
  
  
  
  Excessive weight gain was positively associated, and inadequate weight gain was negatively associated with high birthweight after confounder adjustment (P < 0.05). Only excessive weight gain was associated with overweight in early, middle and late childhood. These associations were not significant in Hispanics or Blacks although racial/ethnic interaction was only significant ages 12-19 years (P = 0.03).
  
  
  
  Helping pregnant women gain weight within national recommendations may aid in preventing overweight and obesity across childhood, particularly for non-Hispanic White mothers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.affiliation: Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Petito
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rehkopf
authors.affiliation: Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Nutrition Policy Institute, University of California, Oakland, CA, USA.
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Abrams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009035:Mothers; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D014481:United States; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: foetal macrosomia; obesity; paediatric obesity; weight gain