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Aim: We examined maternal prepregnancy anthropometry and cord blood DNA methylation., Methods: Associations between maternal measures (i.e., weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, skinfolds, leptin) and methylation β-values at each CpG (measured by the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip) were estimated among 391 singletons., Results: Total of 18% of mothers were obese (body mass index ≥ 30) and 27% centrally obese (waist-to-hip ratio ≥ 0.85). One Bonferroni significant CpG with respect to obesity (cg02975187) and two with central obesity (cg12053563, cg12549355) were identified (p < 6 × 10 -8 ). A suggestive association (p < 10 -6 ) was observed at SFRS8 with increasing body mass index. SFRS8 was previously identified with propensity for weight gain in adults., Conclusion: While associations identified with multiple measures related to maternal adiposity suggest different pathways, methylation differences were small in magnitude.

Background: Previous studies identified associations between maternal obesity and childhood neurodevelopment, but few examined paternal obesity despite potentially distinct genetic/epigenetic effects related to developmental programming., Methods: Upstate KIDS (2008-2010) recruited mothers from New York State (excluding New York City) at ∼4 months postpartum. Parents completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) when their children were 4, 8, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months of age corrected for gestation. The ASQ is validated to screen for delays in 5 developmental domains (ie, fine motor, gross motor, communication, personal-social functioning, and problem-solving ability). Analyses included 3759 singletons and 1062 nonrelated twins with ≥1 ASQs returned. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals were estimated by using generalized linear mixed models accounting for maternal covariates (ie, age, race, education, insurance, marital status, parity, and pregnancy smoking)., Results: Compared with normal/underweight mothers (BMI <25), children of obese mothers (26% with BMI ≥30) had increased odds of failing the fine motor domain (aOR 1.67; confidence interval 1.12-2.47). The association remained after additional adjustment for paternal BMI (1.67; 1.11-2.52). Paternal obesity (29%) was associated with increased risk of failing the personal-social domain (1.75; 1.13-2.71), albeit attenuated after adjustment for maternal obesity (aOR 1.71; 1.08-2.70). Children whose parents both had BMI ≥35 were likely to additionally fail the problem-solving domain (2.93; 1.09-7.85)., Conclusions: Findings suggest that maternal and paternal obesity are each associated with specific delays in early childhood development, emphasizing the importance of family information when screening child development., Competing Interests: POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.)

Objective: Maternal prepregnancy obesity is associated with several poor infant health outcomes; however, studies that investigated motor development have been inconsistent. Thus, maternal prepregnancy weight status and infants' gross motor development were examined., Methods: Participants consisted of 4,901 mother-infant pairs from the Upstate KIDS study, a longitudinal cohort in New York. Mothers indicated dates when infants achieved each of six gross motor milestones when infants were 4, 8, 12, 18, and 24 months old. Failure time modeling under a Weibull distribution was utilized to compare time to achievement across three levels of maternal prepregnancy BMI. Hazard ratios (HR) below one indicate a lower "risk" of achieving the milestone and translate to later achievement., Results: Compared to infants born to thin and normal-weight mothers (BMI < 25), infants born to mothers with obesity (BMI > 30) were slower to sit without support (HR = 0.91, P = 0.03) and crawl on hands and knees (HR = 0.86, P < 0.001), after adjusting for maternal and birth characteristics. Increased gestational age was associated with faster achievement of all milestones, but additional adjustment did not impact results., Conclusions: Maternal prepregnancy obesity was associated with a slightly longer time for infant to sit and crawl, potentially due to a compromised intrauterine environment or reduced physically active play., (© 2015 The Obesity Society.)

Context: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) increases appetite and food intake in animals. Conflicting evidence has been found for the association between polymorphisms of the NPY gene and obesity in humans., Objective: The objective of the investigation was to study four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the NPY gene [rs17149106 (G>T), rs16147 (C>T), rs16139 (T>C), rs5574 (C>T)] with body adiposity., Design: The study design included a candidate gene association study from two cohorts., Participants: Two thousand seventy-one women from the Nurses' Health Study and 1268 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up study participated in the study., Main Outcome Measures: Weight and height were self-reported at baseline and updated every 2 yr to calculate body mass index (BMI)., Results: Two SNPs (rs17149106 (G>T) and rs16139 (T>C)), with minor allele frequencies of 4%, were associated with elevated risks of obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m(2)) in both cohorts. The pooled adjusted odds ratios [95% confidence interval (CI)] were 1.72 (95% CI 1.20-2.47) and 1.79 (95% CI 1.24-2.60), respectively. Haplotype analyses reflected the associations with the individual SNP. TTCC carriers, with the minor allele of both SNPs, had an increased risk of obesity (odds ratio 1.89; 95% CI 1.29-2.75) compared with those carrying the common haplotype GCTT. Carriers of the rs16139 C allele had greater BMI than noncarriers with a pooled mean difference of +0.58 kg/m(2) (95% CI 0.01-1.15) among women and men. Both rs17149106 and rs16139 were associated with weight gain since adolescence/early adulthood but were not associated with abdominal adiposity as measured by waist circumference and waist to hip ratio., Conclusions: NPY gene variants were significantly associated with weight changes from young adulthood to middle age and with risk of obesity.

Carbon isotopic signatures ("δ¹³C") might reflect consumption of corn- and cane-based sweeteners. The authors hypothesized that the δ¹³C value of human serum is higher for individuals with high versus low intakes of corn- and cane-based sweeteners (measured as sweetened beverage intake). They conducted a cross-sectional study within the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Magnetic Resonance Imaging study (Maryland, 2005-2006). Diet was assessed by food frequency questionnaire, and blinded serum samples were assayed by natural abundance stable isotope mass spectroscopy. Studied were 186 participants (53% male; mean age, 71 years; mean body mass index, 30 kg/m²). Serum δ¹³C values for individuals with high sweetened beverage intakes were significantly higher than for those with low intakes (-19.15‰ vs. -19.47‰, P < 0.001). Serum δ¹³C value increased 0.20‰ for every serving/day of sweetened beverages (P < 0.01). The association between sweetened beverages and serum δ¹³C value remained significant after adjustment for confounding by corn-based product intake (P < 0.001). Serum δ¹³C values were also associated with waist circumference, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio. This study provides the first known evidence that the δ¹³C value of human serum differs between persons consuming low and high amounts of sweets. Within the proper framework, serum δ¹³C value could be developed into an objective biomarker promoting more reliable assessment of dietary sweets intake.

Background: Artificial sweeteners are widely replacing caloric sweeteners. Data on long-term impact of artificially sweetened beverage (ASB) consumption during pregnancy on offspring obesity risk are lacking. We prospectively investigated intake of ASBs and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) during pregnancy in relation to offspring growth through age 7 years among high-risk children born to women with gestational diabetes.Methods: In a prospective study of 918 mother-singleton child dyads from the Danish National Birth Cohort, maternal dietary intake was assessed by a food frequency questionnaire during pregnancy. Offspring body mass index z-scores (BMIZ) and overweight/obesity status were derived using weight and length/height at birth, 5 and 12 months and 7 years. Linear regression and Poisson regression with robust standard errors were used, adjusting for major risk factors.Results: Approximately half of women reported consuming ASBs during pregnancy and 9% consumed daily. Compared to never consumption, daily ASB intake during pregnancy was positively associated with offspring large-for-gestational age [adjusted relative risk (aRR) 1.57; 95% CI: 1.05, 2.35 at birth], BMIZ (adjusted β 0.59; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.96) and overweight/obesity (aRR 1.93; 95% CI; 1.24, 3.01) at 7 years. Per-serving-per-day substitution of ASBs with water during pregnancy was related to a lower overweight/obesity risk at 7 years (aRR 0.83; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.91), whereas SSB substitution with ASBs was not related to a lower risk (aRR 1.14; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.31).Conclusions: Our findings illustrated positive associations between intrauterine exposure to ASBs and birth size and risk of overweight/obesity at 7 years. Data with longer follow-up are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, as well as cane sugar, has been implicated in the rise of the obesity and diabetes epidemics. To date, however, no reliable biomarker for the consumption of these sweeteners is available. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the natural abundance stable-carbon-isotope signature of commonly consumed foods of plant origin. Design: Samples from ≈100 plant-derived food products purchased from local grocery stores were analyzed for 13C content by using stable-isotope mass spectroscopy. Results: Measurement of natural abundance ratios of 13C to 12C in ≈100 off-the-shelf foods found a distinct range of values for corn and sugar cane- derived foods, particularly those rich in high fructose corn syrup. Conclusion: A new technique, in which consumption of these foods may be estimated in humans by measuring the natural abundance stable-carbon-isotope profile of corn- and sugar cane-sweetened or sugar-containing foods as tracked in tissue or blood, could potentially provide an objective assessment of dietary intake and offer new opportunities for the study of diet-disease relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) high in fruits, vegetables and monounsaturated fats, has been associated with lower body mass index. Associations with measured body fat, including regional adiposity, have not been previously investigated. We examined the associations between the alternate Mediterranean Diet Score (aMED), anthropometry and measured adiposity by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Subjects/Methods This study included 248 healthy females, aged 18–44 years from the BioCycle Study. Each woman’s aMED (range 0–9) was calculated from up to eight 24-hr dietary recalls over 1–2 menstrual cycles (>97% had ≥7 recalls). Multiple linear regression was used to determine whether aMED and its specific components were associated with total and regional adiposity after adjusting for age, race, education, physical activity and energy intake. Results: Participants had an average (SD) aMED of 4.2 (1.7) and percent body fat of 29.5 (6.0)%. Significant inverse associations were found between aMED and all the examined adiposity measures except waist to hip ratio. Among the DXA measures, a 1-unit increment in aMED was associated with a 0.06 (95% CI:−0.09,−0.02) lower trunk-to-leg fat ratio (T/L), a measure of upper to lower body fat. In an analysis examining T/L as an outcome with the separate components of the aMED, T/L was lower with increased legume consumption (β=−0.280, 95% CI:−0.550,−0.010) but was higher with increased consumption of red and processed meat (β=0.060, 95% CI:0.002,0.117). Conclusions: Adherence to the aMED was associated with lower total and regional adiposity, adding to the mounting evidence of the health benefits of the MD.

OBJECTIVE -- To assess the associations between measures of adiposity and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and to evaluate whether such associations differ by race. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -- Adiposity was measured by anthropometry and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry among women (146 white, 50 black, and 25 Asian) aged 18-44 years in the BioCycle study. SHBG was repeatedly measured over one to two menstrual cycles. The ratio of trunkal to leg fat (T/L) was used to assess upper to lower body adiposity. RESULTS -- Among whites, all adiposity measures were significantly and inversely associated with SHBG. Among blacks, BMI (β = -0.032), waist circumference (β = -0.016), and T/L (β = -0.033) were significantly associated with SHBG, whereas total and trunkal fat were not (P interaction with race <0.04). Among Asians, measures of central and upper body fat were significantly associated with SHBG (e.g., T/L, β = -0.84) but not BMI. CONCLUSIONS-- Associations between SHBG and adiposity differ by race among premenopausal women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]