Maternal obesity during pregnancy increases risk of obesity and disease in the offspring across the lifespan. Animal models indicate that children born to mothers with obesity are less physically active -however, such studies in humans are complex requiring long follow-ups. Investigators at the ACNC analyzed data from The Glowing Study to evaluate the association between maternal adiposity (fat content) measured early in pregnancy with physical activity in the children at 2 years of age. Women enrolled in their first trimester and were followed up with regularly. At two years old, the children born wore an accelerometer (fitness tracker) to measure their physical activity levels. Analyses considered maternal education, weight gain during pregnancy, race, physical activity early in pregnancy, child’s birth weight, parenting styles, and toddler’s weight status. Results showed that physical activity levels of 2-year-old children decrease with increasing maternal fat. When mother’s adiposity (fat content) was < 7 kg/m2 physical activity levels were comparable between boys and girls. However, when the fat content of mom exceeded 7 kg/m2 girls became less active compared to boys. For boys, maternal physical activity early in pregnancy was the variable most strongly associated with physical activity levels age 2 years. In addition, offspring born to women without a college degree were also less active compared to children born to women with a college degree. Our results support the notion that maternal obesity affects offspring’s attitudes and behaviors towards physical activity in a sex dependent manner.
