A recent study conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health reveals that fetuses from pregnant individuals who gained too much weight during the first trimester exhibit signs of increased fat accumulation in the upper arms and abdomen. These discoveries could aid in strategies aimed at preventing early excessive weight gain, which is a known risk factor for obesity in adulthood and associated health issues, such as heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes. This research, which appears in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and is linked to NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, offers vital insights.
The researchers examined data from a previous investigation involving over 2,600 singleton pregnancies. This study included information about maternal weight before and during pregnancy, along with three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound scans taken at various stages throughout the pregnancy. The results indicated that pregnant individuals who experienced excessive weight gain—identified as more than 2 kilograms (approximately 4.4 pounds) during the first trimester—had fetuses with increased abdominal circumference, larger abdominal areas, and thicker arm fat, compared to those with normal weight gain.
Notably, fetuses from the excessive weight gain group continued to exhibit higher arm and abdominal measurements throughout the pregnancy, even if weight gain in the following trimesters wasn’t considered excessive. This contrasts with many earlier studies, which largely focused on total weight gain throughout pregnancy and did not consider specific measurements from fetal 3D imaging.
The authors concluded that their findings indicate that the timing of weight gain could be more crucial than the overall amount of weight gained, suggesting that targeted efforts to manage early weight gain may help in preventing larger fetal sizes and potentially reducing the risks of heart disease and other health conditions later in life.
