Factors Influencing Both Maternal and Infant Body Composition at Two Years Postpartum

Maternal body composition (BC) and physical activity (PA) level during pregnancy both contribute to infant body composition; however, few studies follow children beyond the early weeks to determine the longer-term implications of maternal lifestyle on offspring health. The purpose of this study was threefold: 1) Determine the role of maternal obesity on offspring BC at 2 years of age; 2) Determine the role of PA during pregnancy on maternal and infant BC at two years postpartum; and 3) Determine whether BC at birth (assessed via air displacement plethysmography [PEA POD]) is related to BC at two years of age (assessed via air displacement plethysmography BOD POD). Participants were recruited from a larger observational study. BC (assessed via air displacement plethysmography, PA (assessed via accelerometer), and other lifestyle factors (assessed via validated surveys) were collected for both mother and infant. Twelve mother-infant pairs completed study visits. Kendall’s Tau-b correlation coefficients (R \u3e 0.07 small, \u3e 0.2 moderate, \u3e 0.35 large, \u3e 0.5 very large, \u3e 0.7 nearly perfect) were used to investigate the relationships between maternal and toddler variables due to violation of assumptions and the small sample size. At two years postpartum, maternal body fat percentage positively correlated with offspring BMI (R=0.200). Maternal body fat percentage during pregnancy showed a moderate positive correlation with offspring body fat percentage at 42 Pages two years of age (R=0.222). Maternal light physical activity during pregnancy also showed a moderate positive correlation with offspring body fat percentage at two years of age (R=0.286). Maternal sedentary and light physical activity at two years postpartum showed a large and very large positive correlation with toddler sedentary and light physical activity at two years of age (R= 0.418 and R= 0.564, respectively). Finally, a moderate negative correlation was observed between offspring body fat percentage at birth and at two years of age (R= -0.286). These findings suggest that women who are of a healthy BC and participate in regular PA during late pregnancy are more likely to have children who are also active and have a healthy body composition. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of healthy lifestyle choices during and after pregnancy