Last Updated: 2002-09-30 12:03:29 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Suzanne Rostler
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Babies born weighing less than 5.5 pounds (2.5 kilograms) have a more difficult time processing glucose in their bodies than infants born at normal weight, a new study has found. This could put them at risk for a host of chronic disorders in adulthood.
Birth weight, which is influenced by the gestational age, is thought to reflect how well the baby was nourished in the womb.
Low birth weight may be a risk factor for obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, among other conditions.
Glucose tolerance refers to how well the body is able to use sugar from food as energy. To investigate whether birth weight and gestational age might have an effect on glucose tolerance, the researchers studied 100 newborns weighing less than 5.5 pounds or born premature (before 38 weeks gestation). Blood sugar and insulin levels were measured before and after the babies were fed milk.
The study, published in the September issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, shows that higher birth weight correlated with better glucose tolerance regardless of gestational age.
Smaller infants and those who were the most sensitive to insulin, the key blood-sugar regulating hormone, also grew the fastest in the first days of life, a phenomenon known as "catch-up growth." The researchers cite at least one study showing that catch-up growth was associated with higher body mass index (BMI) in 5-year-olds and suggest that the phenomenon may be one mechanism by which low birth weight increases the risk of obesity and the chronic disorders associated with obesity.
The findings, the authors conclude, support the idea that the environment of the womb has a strong influence on a newborn's metabolism, an influence that could extend into childhood and even adulthood.
In an interview with Reuters Health, Dr. Nigel J. Crowther, the study's lead author, explained that
low birth weight babies who become obese adults have one of the highest risks of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
"Dietary intake for low birth weight children should not be in a form that leads to excessive weight gain in the form of fat. In other words, do not feed your children McDonald's and Coke because you think they are too thin," said Crowther, from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. "Follow a healthy diet that does not contain lots of fat and refined carbohydrate."
In other findings, babies born to mothers taking medication to control their blood pressure during pregnancy were also smaller and tended to secrete more insulin after eating, compared with their peers born to mothers who were not taking medication. Overall, 50% of the infants in the study were born to mothers taking blood pressure medication.
SOURCE: The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 2002;87:4252-4256.
http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...930elin006.html
Blood sugar/ insulin control may be linked to birth weight
I was 2 lb 2 oz, in 1958.....tube fed full strength Carnation milk for 2 months to give fast as possible weight gain.
When I read the subject of this thread, I thought the concept was going to be that *heavier* babies had a higher risk of diabetes/heart disease/obesity. Having a baby over nine pounds is a diabetes risk factor for the mother, and if mom is susceptible, baby inherits many of those genes. Perhaps it's both ends of the spectrum.
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