Newswise — Childhood obesity may be caused by more than poor diet and insufficient physical activity. The latest research suggests that at least some of the risk for obesity may originate in the womb, where the fetus is exposed to the mother’s metabolic state, including her blood sugar levels.
This is called “metabolic programming.” When maternal blood sugar is high during pregnancy, children tend to have higher rates of obesity and disordered glucose metabolism. They may have higher body fat in infancy, then childhood and eventually in adulthood. But could this trajectory be altered?
Researchers at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and colleagues are now turning their attention to breastfeeding as the next critical stage of metabolic programming. They are investigating how blood sugar levels in pregnancy affect nutrient composition of breast milk, focusing on fatty acids known to regulate offspring body fat. They also are trying to determine the impact on the child’s weight and body fat, accounting for the child’s diet.
“We are studying the influence of maternal metabolism during pregnancy on both breast milk composition and the child’s metabolism,” said Co-Principal Investigator Jami Josefson, MD, pediatric endocrinologist and scientist at Lurie Children’s, the lead site for the study. “We are considering the entire range of blood sugar levels during pregnancy, from normal to gestational diabetes.”
Since October 2023, the study enrolled 180 mother/baby pairs, with the goal of enrolling 400. All the mothers in this study were participants in another study that collected detailed metabolic data throughout their pregnancy. These data will be linked to their breast milk composition profiles, as well as body fat measurements of the mother and baby at 1 month, 2 months, 6 months and 2 years of age.
“We hope to advance understanding of how in utero exposures modify lactational programming,” said Dr. Josefson. “Ultimately, our goal is to identify interventions to mitigate adverse developmental programming and prevent childhood obesity.”
The Glycemia Range and Offspring Weight and adiposity in response To Human milk (GROWTH) study is funded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Dr. Josefson is the Children’s Research Fund Junior Board Research Scholar at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Lurie Children’s. She also is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Daniel Robinson, MD, neonatologist and scientist at Lurie Children’s, is the Co-Principal Investigator on the GROWTH study. He is the Founders’ Board Neonatology Young Research Scholar at Manne Research Institute and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.