Assessing the Relationship Between Prenatal DHA Status on Offspring Body Composition

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: As childhood obesity rates continue to rise, it is crucial to discover more effective prevention strategies. Most obesity prevention treatment strategies are implemented in school-age children. However, it may be necessary to intervene during pregnancy to prevent offspring obesity. Maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) status throughout pregnancy may promote improved infant growth, thus helping prevent obesity. Furthermore, maternal DHA status may improve adiposity of infants born to mothers with excessive gestational weight gain (GWG). Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if maternal DHA status influences infant percentage body fat (% fat), fat mass (FM), and fat-free mass (FFM). Furthermore, this study examined if maternal DHA status improves body composition of infants born to mothers with excessive GWG. Design: Pregnant women were randomized to receive 200 or 800 mg DHA per day from 12-20 weeks gestation to birth. Maternal blood was collected at baseline and at delivery to determine maternal red blood cell phospholipid (RBC-PL) DHA status. Infant body composition was measured at 1 month and 4 months of age using two-compartment air-displacement plethysmography (ADP). Change in infant fat body weight, FM, FFM, and %fat was calculated. A median split was created to represent high vs. low for the change in DHA status from early pregnancy to late in pregnancy (32 weeks). Maternal GWG was categorized as excessive vs. not-excessive based on clinical guidelines. ANCOVA examined the main effects for differences in infant body composition between groups based on the change in maternal DHA status (high vs. low) and GWG (excessive vs. not-excessive). An interaction between maternal DHA status and GWG category was assessed.