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Abstract ObjectiveA mother–child dyad trajectory model of weight and body composition spanning from conception to adolescence was developed to understand how early life exposures shape childhood body composition. MethodsAfrican American (49.3%) and Dominican (50.7%) pregnant mothers (n= 337) were enrolled during pregnancy, and their children (47.5% female) were followed from ages 5 to 14. Gestational weight gain (GWG) was abstracted from medical records. Child weight, height, percentage body fat, and waist circumference were measured. GWG and child body composition trajectories were jointly modeled with a flexible latent class model with a class membership component that included prepregnancy BMI. ResultsFour prenatal and child body composition trajectory patterns were identified, and sex‐specific patterns were observed for the joint GWG–postnatal body composition trajectories with more distinct patterns among girls but not boys. Girls of mothers with high GWG across gestation had the highest BMIzscore, waist circumference, and percentage body fat trajectories from ages 5 to 14; however, boys in this high GWG group did not show similar growth patterns. ConclusionsJointly modeled prenatal weight and child body composition trajectories showed sex‐specific patterns. Growth patterns from childhood though early adolescence appeared to be more profoundly affected by higher GWG patterns in females, suggesting sex differences in developmental programming.
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Adipose development is consistent across hunter–gatherers and diverges from western references
Despite agreement that humans have evolved to be unusually fat primates, adipose patterning among hunter–gatherers has received little empirical consideration. Here we consider the development of adiposity among four contemporary groups of hunter–gatherers, the Aka, Savanna Pumé, Ju’/Hoansi and Agta using multi-level generalized additive mixed modelling to characterize the growth of tricep skinfolds from early childhood through adolescence. In contrast to references, hunter–gatherers show several consistent patterns: (i) children are lean with little fat accumulation; (ii) no adiposity rebound at 5 years is evident; (iii) girls on average have built 90% of their body size, and reach menarche when adiposity is at its maximum velocity; and (iv) a metabolic trade-off is evident in young, but not older children, such that both boys and girls prioritize skeletal growth during middle childhood, a trade-off that diminishes during adolescence when height velocity increases in pace with fat accumulation. Consistent results across hunter–gatherers living in diverse environments suggest that these patterns reflect a general forager pattern of development. The findings provide a valuable baseline for adipose development not apparent from reference populations. We emphasize both generalized trends among hunter–gatherers, and that inter-populational differences point to the plasticity with which humans organize growth and development.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2051264
- PAR ID:
- 10625980
- Publisher / Repository:
- Proceedings of the Royal Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Volume:
- 291
- Issue:
- 2029
- ISSN:
- 0962-8452
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.0110
