Prenatal Exercise Dose and Infant Adiposity (PEDIA) Grant uri icon

abstract

  • Maternal overweight/obesity (OWOB) during pregnancy is associated with increased adiposity in offspring. Prenatal exercise (PEx) reduces neonatal adiposity while improving fat metabolism in offspring mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, data from randomized clinical trials are lacking; no studies have assessed the influence of PEx on infant body fat/adipocytes at the cellular level. Our preliminary data show that maternal RE favorably impacts infant adiposity and cellular lipid metabolism in MSCs, which are associated with infant weight and fatness. Furthermore, maternal RE duration and volume are associated with decreased abdominal circumference (AC), and BF% at one month of age. A more comprehensive, longitudinal study with OW/OB women is needed to confirm our preliminary work. The central hypothesis is that high duration/high volume RE during pregnancy in OW/OB women will improve offspring metabolic outcomes to a greater extent than other doses or non-exercise control. With two specific aims, we will determine the effect of PEx dose (duration, volume) on 1) infant whole-body BF and 2) adipogenesis in MSCs. The proposed work will have a significant impact on reducing the cycle of OB, potentially providing the earliest and most efficacious intervention to attenuate OB in the next generation.

date/time interval

  • January 2024 - December 2025

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