What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to investigate the association between maternal overnutrition markers during pregnancy and the abdominal and hepatic fat trajectories in offspring.

June 13, 2026

2077-P: Exposure to Maternal Overnutrition In Utero and Offspring Abdominal and Hepatic Fat Trajectories

Key Points

This study aims to investigate the association between maternal overnutrition markers during pregnancy and the abdominal and hepatic fat trajectories in offspring.
Longitudinal pre-birth cohort of 433 mother-child pairs from the Colorado Healthy Start Study.
MRI assessed abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue and hepatic fat fraction at ages 5, 9, and 12.
Linear mixed models analyzed associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, fasting glucose, and triglycerides with offspring adiposity trajectories.
Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and fasting glucose positively correlated with higher offspring SAT, VAT, and hepatic fat across childhood and adolescence.
The strongest associations for maternal ppBMI and FG effects were observed during adolescence.
Maternal triglycerides primarily linked with increased offspring hepatic fat, particularly significant in early childhood.

Abstract

Introduction and Objective: The impact of early life exposure to overnutrition on metabolically adverse body fat distribution patterns in childhood is under-studied. Our objective was to examine associations between markers of maternal overnutrition during pregnancy (maternal pre-pregnancy BMI ppBMI, fasting glucose FG and triglycerides TG levels) with offspring abdominal and hepatic fat trajectories. Methods: Data were from 433 mother-child pairs in the Colorado Healthy Start Study, a longitudinal pre-birth cohort. Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT) areas and hepatic fat fraction (HF) were assessed by MRI in early childhood (~5 y), mid childhood (~9 y), and adolescence (~12 y). Linear mixed models were used to examine associations of maternal ppBMI, FG, and TG during pregnancy with differences in offspring adiposity trajectories. Results: Mean values for all adiposity measures increased from early childhood (HF: 1.9%, SAT: 47 cm2, VAT: 12 cm2) through adolescence (HF: 2.3%, SAT: 150 cm2, VAT: 29 cm2). Maternal ppBMI and FG were associated with higher offspring SAT, VAT, and HF at nearly all visits in childhood and adolescence, with the strongest effect sizes in adolescence; whereas, maternal TG was primarily associated with higher offspring HF, with the strongest effect size in early childhood (Table 1). Conclusion: Overnutrition in utero may be an important risk factor for adverse adiposity outcomes in offspring. Disclosure C.C. Cohen: None. E.K. Englund: None. J. Giles: None. D. Glueck: None. M. Kelsey: Research Support; Current; Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. D. Dabelea: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (K99DK136503, R01DK133235)

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