Role of gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes, breastfeeding, and hypertension in mother-to-child obesity transmission

Given the reported 30% prevalence of early-life obesity in the Western world, the nongenetic, maternally derived risk factors for excess body mass in offspring have been widely investigated recently. This review article aimed to analyze the results of 67 articles published from 2014 onwards that investigated causative non-genetic-based associations between maternal and infantile excess body mass. Excessive gestational weight gain was found to increase the incidence of excess body mass in offspring, reaching nearly 20% at 2 years of age. Furthermore, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases the risk of offspring that is large for gestational age. The offspring of mothers with GDM and mothers with dyslipidemia in the first trimester of pregnancy had higher rates of excess body mass. In addition, breastfeeding for a period of less than 6 months was one of the 4 factors that were most strongly associated with childhood obesity. Pregnancy-induced hypertension raises the risk of childhood obesity by 50%. In conclusion, excessive gestational weight gain, GDM, maternal dyslipidemia, breastfeeding for a period of less than 6 months, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are associated with maternal and childhood obesity and are perinatal risk factors of excess body mass in offspring. Their occurrence should be monitored and prevention of these factors should become the principal aim of obesity prevention programs for children. Occurrence of these factors may justify intense screening to diagnose early stages of metabolic disorders in offspring, even in adulthood. Further large-scale studies are warranted to draw a firm conclusion.