“How fast or even how slow a baby grows in the mother’s womb and in the first year of life can predict how much of body fat he may gain later in life.”
The article about this study’s finding has been selected as “The Best of JCEM* 2014” in the subspecialty of Obesity.
In close collaboration between Erasmus University Medical Center and Danone Research & Innovation, the article reported one of the outcomes of the Generation R Study in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. In this prospective cohort study involving 6464 children, the growth in fetal life (when a baby is still in his mother’s womb) and/or infancy (during the first year after birth) were positively associated with weight gain and/or body composition at the age of 6 years:
- Growing too fast in both fetal life and infancy may lead to a higher weight gain and body fat in childhood.
- Growing slow in fetal life but too fast in infancy may lead to an adverse body fat distribution in childhood.
“This has enhanced our understanding how critical is the nutrition in the first 1000 days as it can affect fetal and infant growth, which may determine the body composition in later life,” said Eline van der Beek, one of the authors of the article.
The findings have also added to a growing body of evidence that an adverse fetal environment (when a baby is still in his mother’s womb) e.g. undernutrition, leads to adaptations that program the metabolism of the baby and increase the risk of diseases later in life.
“This news that ‘The Best of JCEM 2014’ showcases our study as one of the year’s outstanding articles closes my year with a beautiful proud ending!” expressed joyfully when the news reached Eline van der Beek, Research Director of Danone Research & Innovation.
“The Best of JCEM” highlights the important findings and notable advances in clinical endocrine science.
Read the full article in: http://press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/jc.2013-4345
*JCEM = The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, is the world’s leading peer-reviewed journal for clinical research related to hormones and metabolism (process in the body to convert into energy to fuel our life or to store the excessive energy).