Abstract
Objectives To determine the importance of pregnancy weight gain as a predictor of overweight (Body Mass Index [BMI] >85th percentile) in offspring at age 3 years and if its influence varies by maternal BMI. Methods Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were conducted on a sample of 208 mother-child pairs from an earlier observational cohort study on postpartum weight retention. Results In the final reduced regression model, maternal early pregnancy BMI was positively and significantly associated with overweight in offspring, as were birth weight above the sample median of 3,600 g and maternal smoking during pregnancy (P ≤ 0.01). In addition, a significant interaction was found between maternal BMI and gestational weight gain (P = 0.03). The risk of offspring overweight that is associated with 5 excess pounds of net pregnancy weight gain increases with maternal BMI. Conclusions Excess pregnancy weight gain is associated with increased risk of child overweight at age 3 years and its impact is greater among high and obese BMI women than it is in normal BMI women. Reducing maternal BMI in the preconception period in overweight women and preventing excessive weight gain in pregnancy for all women appear to be appropriate strategies to address the childhood obesity epidemic.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Curtin, L. R., McDowell, M. A., Tabak, C. J., & Flegal, K. M. (2006). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999–2004. Journal of the American Medical Association, 295, 1549–1555. doi:10.1001/jama.295.13.1549.
Krebs, N. F., Baker, R. D., Greer, F. R., Heyman, M. B., Jaksic, T., Lifshitz, F., et al. (2003). Prevention of pediatric overweight and obesity. Pediatrics, 112(2), 424–430. doi:10.1542/peds.112.2.424.
Nader, P. R., O’Brien, M., Houts, R., Bradley, R., Belsky, J., Crosnoe, R., Susman, E. J., & The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Network. (2006). Identifying risk for obesity in early childhood. Pediatrics, 118, e594–e601. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-2801.
Whitaker, R. C., & Dietz, W. H. (1998). Role of the prenatal environment in the development of obesity. The Journal of Pediatrics, 132, 768–776. doi:10.1016/S0022-3476(98)70302-6.
Oken, E., & Gillman, M. W. (2003). Fetal origins of obesity. Obesity Research, 11, 496–506. doi:10.1038/oby.2003.69.
Lawlor, D. A., & Chaturvedi, N. (2006). Treatment and prevention of obesity—are there critical periods for intervention? International Journal of Epidemiology, 35, 3–9. doi:10.1093/ije/dyi309.
Whitaker, R. C. (2004). Predicting preschooler obesity at birth: The role of maternal obesity in early pregnancy. Pediatrics, 114, e29–e36. doi:10.1542/peds.114.1.e29.
Salsberry, P. J., & Reagan, P. B. (2005). Dynamics of early childhood overweight. Pediatrics, 116, 1329–1338. doi:10.1542/peds.2004-2583.
Oken, E., Taveras, E. M., Kleinman, K. P., Rich-Edwards, J. W., & Gillman, M. W. (2007). Gestational weight gain and child adiposity at age 3 years. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 196, 322.e1–322.e8.
Moreira, P., Padez, C., Mourão-Carvalhal, I., & Rosado, V. (2007). Maternal weight gain during pregnancy and overweight in Portuguese children. International Journal of Obesity, 31, 608–614. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803582.
Sharma, A. J., Cogswell, M. E., & Grummer-Strawn, L. M. (2005). The association between pregnancy weight gain and childhood overweight is modified by mother’s pre-pregnancy BMI. Pediatric Research, 58, 1038. doi:10.1203/00006450-200510000-00042. abstract.
Olson, C. M., & Strawderman, M. S. (2003). Modifiable behavioral factors in a biopsychosocial model predict inadequate and excessive gestational weight gain. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103, 48–54. doi:10.1053/jada.2003.50001.
Stotland, N. E., Cheng, Y. W., Hopkins, L. M., & Caughey, A. B. (2006). Gestational weight gain and adverse neonatal outcome among term infants. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 108(3 Pt1), 635–643.
Wells, C. S., Schwalberg, R., Noonan, G., & Gabor, V. (2006). Factors influencing inadequate and excessive weight gain in pregnancy: Colorado, 2000–2002. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10(1), 55–62. doi:10.1007/s10995-005-0034-2.
Lederman, S. A., Alfasi, G., & Deckelbaum, R. J. (2002). Pregnancy-associated obesity in black women in New York City. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 6(1), 37–42. doi:10.1023/A:1014364116513.
Olson, C. M., Strawderman, M. S., & Reed, R. G. (2004). Efficacy of an intervention to prevent excessive gestational weight gain. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 191, 530–536. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2004.01.027.
Polley, B. A., Wing, R. R., & Sims, C. J. (2002). Randomized controlled trial to prevent excessive weight gain in pregnant women. International Journal of Obesity, 26, 1494–1502. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802130.
Hinton, P. S., & Olson, C. M. (2001). Predictors of pregnancy-associated change in physical activity in a rural white population. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5, 7–14. doi:10.1023/A:1011315616694.
Kendall, A., Olson, C. M., & Frongillo, E. A., Jr. (2001). Evaluation of psychosocial measures for understanding weight-related behaviors in pregnant women. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 50–58. doi:10.1207/S15324796ABM2301_8.
Olson, C. M., Strawderman, M. S., Hinton, P. S., & Pearson, T. A. (2003). Gestational weight gain and postpartum behaviors associated with weight change from early pregnancy to 1 y postpartum. International Journal of Obesity, 27, 117–127. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802156.
Institute of Medicine. (1992). Nutrition during pregnancy and lactation. An implementation guide. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Li, C., Goran, M. I., Kaur, H., Nollen, N., & Ahluwalia, J. S. (2007). Developmental trajectories of overweight during childhood: Role of early life factors. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 15(3), 760–771. doi:10.1038/oby.2007.585.
Wrotniak, B. H., Shults, J., Butts, S., & Stettler, N. (2008). Gestational weight gain and risk of overweight in the offspring at age 7 y in a multicenter, multiethnic cohort study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 87, 1818–1824.
Huang, J. S., Lee, T. A., & Lu, M. C. (2007). Prenatal programming of childhood overweight and obesity. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 11, 461–473. doi:10.1007/s10995-006-0141-8.
Oken, E., Levitan, E. B., & Gillman, M. W. (2008). Maternal smoking during pregnancy and child overweight: Systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Obesity, 32, 201–210. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803760.
Leary, S. D., Smith, G. D., Rogers, I. S., Reilly, J. J., Wells, J. C. K., & Ness, A. R. (2006). Smoking during pregnancy and offspring fat and lean mass in childhood. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.), 14(12), 2284–2293. doi:10.1038/oby.2006.268.
Harder, T., Bergmann, R., Kallischnigg, G., & Plagemann, A. (2005). Duration of breastfeeding and risk of overweight: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Epidemiology, 162, 397–403. doi:10.1093/aje/kwi222.
Arenz, A., Rückerl, R., Koletzko, B., & von Kries, R. (2004). Breast-feeding and childhood obesity - a systematic review. International Journal of Obesity, 28, 1247–1256. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802758.
Ryan, A. S. (2007). Breastfeeding and the risk of childhood obesity. Collegium Antropologicum, 31(1), 19–28.
Kramer, M. S., Matush, L., Vanilovich, I., Platt, R. W., Bogdanovich, N., Sevkovskaya, Z., et al. (2007). Effects of prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding on child height, weight, adiposity and blood pressure at age 6.5 y: Evidence from a large randomized trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86, 1717–1721.
National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2007). Influence of pregnancy weight on maternal and child health workshop report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Committee on Obstetric Practice. (2005). Obesity in pregnancy. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 106, 671–675.
Claesson, I.-M., Sydsjö, G., Brynhildsen, J., Cedergren, M., Jeppsson, A., Nyström, F., & Sydsjö, J. A. (2007). Weight gain restriction for obese pregnant women: A case-control intervention study. BJOG. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2007.01531.x.
Wolff, S., Legarth, J., Vangsgaard, K., Toubro, S., & Astrup, A. (2008). A randomized trial of the effects of dietary counseling on gestational weight gain and glucose metabolism in obese pregnant women. International Journal of Obesity. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803710.
Acknowledgements
The funding for the collection of the data for the Bassett Mothers Health Project was provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant No. HD 29549). The audit of the children’s medical records was conducted by Lydia Gedmintas at Bassett Healthcare.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Olson, C.M., Strawderman, M.S. & Dennison, B.A. Maternal Weight Gain During Pregnancy and Child Weight at Age 3 Years. Matern Child Health J 13, 839–846 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0413-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-008-0413-6