Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which known prenatal and perinatal predictors of childhood obesity also predict weight gain in early infancy. STUDY DESIGN: We studied 690 infants participating in the prospective cohort Project Viva. We measured length and weight at birth and at 6 months. Using multivariable linear regression, we examined relationships of selected maternal and infant factors with change in weight-for-length z-score (WFL-z) from 0 to 6 months. RESULTS: Mean (standard deviation) change in WFL-z from 0 to 6 months was 0.23 (1.11), which translates to 4500 grams gained from birth to 6 months of life in an infant with average birth weight and length. After adjustment for confounding variables and birth weight-for-gestational age z-score (-0.28 [95% confidence interval, -0.37, -0.19] per unit), cord blood leptin (-0.40 [95%confidence interval, -0.61, -0.19] per 10 ng/mL), and gestational diabetes -0.50 [95%confidence interval, -0.88, -0.11] versus normal glucose tolerance)were each associated with slower gain in WFL-z from 0 to 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Higher neonatal leptin and gestational diabetes predicted slower weight gain in the first 6 months of life. The hormonal milieu of the intrauterine environment may determine growth patterns in early infancy and thus later obesity.