title: Review: Is rapid fat accumulation in early life associated with adverse later health outcomes?
abstract: This review discusses ways in which the maternal environment and placental function affect the birth weight and adult health outcomes of offspring. These maternal and placental factors have varying and sometimes opposing effects on birth weight, resulting in infants that are born small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA) or preterm. However, all these alterations in weight have similar effects on adult health, increasing the risk of obesity and its associated cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. While birth weight has been used as a marker for risk of adverse adult health, we propose that a common feature of all these scenarios - early accumulation of excess body fat - may be a better marker than birth weight alone. Furthermore, altered neonatal fat accumulation may be more closely related to the mechanism by which maternal environment and placental adaptation mediate effects on adult health. We suggest that more research should be focussed on early fat accretion, factors that promote fat accretion and if it can be avoided, and whether it would be beneficial to try to reduce fat accumulation in early life.
authors.affiliation: UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia. Electronic address: abirami.ratnasingham@uqconnect.edu.au.
authors.forename: Abirami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ratnasingham
authors.affiliation: UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia. Electronic address: y.eiby@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Yvonne A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Eiby
authors.affiliation: UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. Electronic address: m.dekker@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Marloes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dekker Nitert
authors.affiliation: UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia; Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia. Electronic address: tim.donovan@health.qld.gov.au.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.affiliation: UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia; Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Queensland 4029, Australia. Electronic address: b.lingwood@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Barbara E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Lingwood
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001724:Birth Weight; D002657:Child Development; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology*; D010920:Placenta / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
keywords: Adiposity; Large for gestational age; Low birth weight; Metabolic syndrome