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Background: Elevated maternal blood glucose concentrations may contribute to macrosomia, adiposity, and poorer vascular health in the offspring. Objective: The aim was to explore the effect of a low-glycemic index (low-GI) diet during pregnancy on offspring growth, adiposity, and arterial wall thickness during infancy. Design: This was a longitudinal follow-up study in a self-selected subgroup of mother-infant pairs (n = 59) participating in a larger randomized trial comparing the effects on perinatal outcomes of a low-GI diet and a conventional high-fiber (HF) diet during pregnancy. Infant anthropometric measurements were taken every month for 6 mo and then at 9 and 12 mo of age. Adiposity was assessed at birth and at 3 mo by air-displacement plethysmography by using the Pea Pod system (Cosmed) and at 6 and 12 mo by bioimpedance analysis (Bodystat). Aortic intima-media thickness was assessed at 12 mo by high-resolution ultrasound (Philips). Results: Maternal dietary GI was lower in the low-GI group than in the HF group (51 ± 1 compared with 57 ± 1; P < 0.001). No differences in neonatal outcomes were observed in the main trial. In the self-selected subsample, birth weight and length z scores were lower in the low-GI group than in the HF group (birth weight z score: 0.2 ± 0.2 compared with 0.7 ± 0.2, respectively; P = 0.04; birth length z score: 0.3 ± 0.2 compared with 0.9 ± 0.2, respectively; P = 0.04), but adiposity from birth to 12 mo of age and growth trajectories from 1 to 12 mo of age were similar. Aortic intima-media thickness was lower in the low-GI group than in the HF group (657 ±12 compared with 696 ± 12 μm, respectively; P = 0.02), which was partly mediated by differences in birth weight. Conclusion: In women at risk of gestational diabetes mellitus, a low-GI diet influences offspring birth weight, birth length, and arterial wall thickness in early childhood, but not adiposity or growth trajectory during the first year of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Impaired fetal growth is independently associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in adulthood. Prevention strategies that can be implemented during adulthood have not been identified. Objective: The objective was to determine whether habitual omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid intake is associated with the rate of increase of carotid intima-media thickness during adulthood in individuals with impaired fetal growth. Design: This was a population-based, prospective cohort study of 1573 adults in Finland. Carotid intima-media thickness was assessed in 2001 (at ages 24-39 y) and in 2007. Participants were categorized as having had impaired fetal growth (term birth with birth weight <10th percentile for sex or preterm birth with birth weight <25th percentile for gestational age and sex; n = 193) or normal fetal growth (all other participants; n = 1380). Omega-3 fatty acid intake was assessed by using a food-frequency questionnaire and on the basis of serum fatty acid concentrations. Results: In multivariable models, the 6-y progression of carotid intima-media thickness was inversely associated with dietary omega-3 fatty acids in those with impaired fetal growth (P = 0.04). Similarly, serum omega-3 fatty acid concentrations were in versely associated with the 6-y progression of carotid intima-media thickness in those with impaired fetal growth (P = 0.04) but were not noted in those with normal fetal growth (P = 0.94 and P = 0.26 respectively). Conclusion: Dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a slower rate of increase in carotid intima-media thickness in those with impaired fetal growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]