Maternal Overweight/Obesity and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Status During Pregnancy Are Associated with Offspring Body Composition at 8.5 Years: Findings from the PREOBE Study
11 affiliations
- 1Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine,University of Granada, Avda. Jesús Candel Fábregas, 18016 Granada, Spain
- 2EURISTIKOS Excellence Centre for Pediatric Research, University of Granada, Avda. del Conocimiento, 19, 18016 Granada, Spain
- 3Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Granada (Ibs-GRANADA), Avda. de Madrid, 15, Beiro, 18012 Granada, Spain
- 4Institute of Neurosciences, Biomedical Research Centre, University of Granada, Avda. del Conocimiento, 19, 18012 Granada, Spain
- 5Department of Nutrition, Food Sciences and Gastronomy, XIA School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
- 6Institut de Recerca en Nutrició i Seguretat Alimentària UB (INSA-UB), 08921 Barcelona, Spain
- 7CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition CIBERobn, Institute of Health Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- 8Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, 18012 Granada, Spain
- 9CIBER on Epidemiology and Public Health CIBEResp, Institute of Health Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- 10Pediatric Unit, Foundation IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20122 Milan, Italy
- 11Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
Abstract
Background: Maternal obesity is associated with altered polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) status during pregnancy and may programme offspring adiposity, yet the contribution of specific n-3 and n-6 PUFAs across gestation and in cord blood to childhood body composition remains incompletely understood. We investigated these associations between maternal PUFA status during pregnancy and offspring obesity-related outcomes at 8.5 years. Methods: Here, we analysed data of 172 mother–child pairs from the PREOBE cohort, grouped by maternal pregestational body mass index (BMI) as normal weight (NW, n = 84), overweight (OW, n = 47), or obese (OB, n = 41). Plasma phospholipid PUFAs were quantified at 24, 34, and 40 weeks of gestation and in cord blood. At 8.5 years, children underwent anthropometry and body-composition assessment by skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance, remaining 104 mother–child pairs with valid data. Associations analyses included ANOVA/ANCOVA adjusted by confounders variables, unadjusted bivariate Spearman rank correlations with Benjamini–Hochberg False Discovery Rate (FDR) correction, and pooled robust linear regression. Results: Compared with NW mothers, OW and OB mothers showed lower α-linolenic acid (ALA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and higher n-6 PUFAs and n-6/n-3 ratios during pregnancy. Cord γ-linolenic acid (GLA) was inversely associated with several adiposity measures in the NW and OW groups after FDR correction. No correlation in the OB group met the FDR threshold; the inverse cord GLA–fat-free mass index (FFMI) association was nominal only (ρ = −0.52, p = 0.016, q = 0.688). In pooled regression models, cord GLA was inversely associated with BMI-for-age z-score, waist circumference z-score, waist-to-height ratio, body fat mass percentage, and fat mass index (FMI), whereas maternal GLA at 40 weeks was positively associated with body fat mass percentage and FMI. These pooled estimates do not establish group-specific effects. Conclusions: Maternal and cord-blood PUFA profiles were associated with childhood body composition, with patterns that varied descriptively by sampling time and maternal BMI group. These observational findings do not establish causality, protection, or differences between groups in the strength of association. Mechanistic and interventional research is required before individualised long-chain PUFA monitoring or supplementation can be recommended for obesity prevention.
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BibTeX
@article{escuderomarin2026maternal,
title = {{Maternal Overweight/Obesity and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Status During Pregnancy Are Associated with Offspring Body Composition at 8.5 Years: Findings from the PREOBE Study}},
author = {Mireia Escudero-Marín and Hatim Azaryah and Andrea De La Garza and Carmen López-Sabater and Rocío Bonillo-León and Luz María García-Valdés and Elvira Verduci and Cristina Campoy},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18203453},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3453},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Maternal Overweight/Obesity and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Status During Pregnancy Are Associated with Offspring Body Composition at 8.5 Years: Findings from the PREOBE Study
AU - Mireia Escudero-Marín
AU - Hatim Azaryah
AU - Andrea De La Garza
AU - Carmen López-Sabater
AU - Rocío Bonillo-León
AU - Luz María García-Valdés
AU - Elvira Verduci
AU - Cristina Campoy
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18203453
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3453
AB - Background: Maternal obesity is associated with altered polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) status during pregnancy and may programme offspring adiposity, yet the contribution of specific n-3 and n-6 PUFAs across gestation and in cord blood to childhood body composition remains incompletely understood. We investigated these associations between maternal PUFA status during pregnancy and offspring obesity-related outcomes at 8.5 years. Methods: Here, we analysed data of 172 mother–child pairs from the PREOBE cohort, grouped by maternal pregestational body mass index (BMI) as normal weight (NW, n = 84), overweight (OW, n = 47), or obese (OB, n = 41). Plasma phospholipid PUFAs were quantified at 24, 34, and 40 weeks of gestation and in cord blood. At 8.5 years, children underwent anthropometry and body-composition assessment by skinfolds and bioelectrical impedance, remaining 104 mother–child pairs with valid data. Associations analyses included ANOVA/ANCOVA adjusted by confounders variables, unadjusted bivariate Spearman rank correlations with Benjamini–Hochberg False Discovery Rate (FDR) correction, and pooled robust linear regression. Results: Compared with NW mothers, OW and OB mothers showed lower α-linolenic acid (ALA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and higher n-6 PUFAs and n-6/n-3 ratios during pregnancy. Cord γ-linolenic acid (GLA) was inversely associated with several adiposity measures in the NW and OW groups after FDR correction. No correlation in the OB group met the FDR threshold; the inverse cord GLA–fat-free mass index (FFMI) association was nominal only (ρ = −0.52, p = 0.016, q = 0.688). In pooled regression models, cord GLA was inversely associated with BMI-for-age z-score, waist circumference z-score, waist-to-height ratio, body fat mass percentage, and fat mass index (FMI), whereas maternal GLA at 40 weeks was positively associated with body fat mass percentage and FMI. These pooled estimates do not establish group-specific effects. Conclusions: Maternal and cord-blood PUFA profiles were associated with childhood body composition, with patterns that varied descriptively by sampling time and maternal BMI group. These observational findings do not establish causality, protection, or differences between groups in the strength of association. Mechanistic and interventional research is required before individualised long-chain PUFA monitoring or supplementation can be recommended for obesity prevention.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -