The Association between Obesity-Risk Genes and Gestational Weight Gain Is Modified by Dietary Intake in African American Women

Exploring Gene-Diet Interactions for Mother-Child Health: A Systematic Review of Epidemiological Studies

BACKGROUND

Maternal-child health suggests the critical impact of maternal nutrition during the pre-conception and gestational periods, with some genetic variants also playing a significant role. Our systematic review provides an overview of epidemiological studies exploring the interactions between genetic variants, maternal dietary habits, and neonatal and/or maternal pregnancy outcomes.

METHODS

From its inception until June 2023, we conducted a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases.

RESULTS

On a total of 29 epidemiological studies, 11 studies were conducted to explore the interplay between genetic variants and dietary factors, focusing on the risks associated with gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, recurrent spontaneous abortion, recurrent pregnancy loss, iron deficiency anemia, and gestational weight gain. Concerning neonatal outcomes, six studies investigated the interplay between genetic variants, dietary factors, and anthropometric measures, while eight studies delved into abnormal embryonic development, two studies focused on preterm birth, and two studies explored other neonatal outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Deeply understanding gene-diet interactions could be useful in developing highly personalized approaches to maternal and child nutrition, as well as in exploring the potential implications in disease prevention and the promotion of the long-term well-being of both mothers and their offspring.

Gestational Weight Gain: Is the Role of Genetic Variants a Determinant? A Review

Excessive or insufficient gestational weight gain (GWG) leads to diverse adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. There is evidence that pregestational body mass index (pBMI) plays a role in GWG, but no genetic cause has been identified. In this review, we aim to analyze genotype variants associated with GWG. Results: We identified seven genotype variants that may be involved in GWG regulation that were analyzed in studies carried out in Brazil, Romania, the USA, Turkey, Ukraine, and Canada. Some genetic variants were only associated with GWG in certain races or depending on the pBMI. In women who were obese or overweight before gestation, some genetic variants were associated with GWG. Environmental and genetic factors together showed a greater association with GWG than genetic factors alone; for example, type of diet was observed to have a significant influence. Conclusions: We found little scientific evidence of an association between genotype variants in countries with a high prevalence of women of reproductive age who are overweight and obese, such as in Latin America. GWG may be more dependent on environmental factors than genetic variants. We suggest a deeper study of genetic variants, cytokines, and their possible association with GWG, always with the respective control of potential cofounding factors, such as pBMI, diet, and race.

Individual, Family, and Social Factors Associated with Gestational Weight Gain in Adolescents: A Scoping Review

About 56% to 84% of pregnant adolescents have inappropriate (insufficient or excessive) gestational weight gain (GWG); however, the factors associated with GWG in this age group have not been systematically identified. This scoping review aimed to synthesize the available scientific evidence on the association of individual, family, and social factors with inappropriate gestational weight gain in pregnant adolescents. To carry out this review, the MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched for articles from recent years. The evidence was organized according to individual, family, and social factors. The analyzed studies included 1571 adolescents from six retrospective cohorts, 568 from three prospective cohorts, 165 from a case-control study, 395 from a cross-sectional study, and 78,001 from two national representative samples in the USA. At the individual level, in approximately half of the studies, the pre-pregnancy body mass index (pBMI) was positively associated with the GWG recommended by the Institute of Medicine of the USA (IOM). The evidence was insufficient for the other factors (maternal age, number of deliveries, and family support) to determine an association. According to the review, we concluded that pBMI was positively associated with the GWG. More quality studies are needed to assess the association between GWG and individual, family, and social factors.

Variants of the cry 1 gene may influence the effect of fat intake on resting metabolic rate in women with overweight of obesity: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown that the minor allele (C allele) for Cry 1 rs2287161, may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Low resting metabolic rate (RMR) caused by the diet has been shown to have, potentially, unfavorable effects on obesity. This study sought to investigate the interactions between the Cry 1 Gene and fat intake on RMR in women with overweight of obesity.

METHODS

This comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on 377 Iranian women with overweight of obesity. A food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), with 147 items, was used to assess dietary intake. Individuals were categorized into two groups based on the rs2287161 genotype. Body composition, dietary intake, and RMR were assessed for all participants.

RESULTS

There was a significant difference between genotypes for fasting blood sugar (FBS) (P = 0.04), fat free mass (FFM) (P = 0.0009), RMR per FFM (P = 0.05), RMR per body mass index (BMI) (P = 0.02), and RMR deviation (P = 0.01). Our findings also showed significant interactions between total fat and C allele carrier group on RMR per kg body weight, RMR per body surface area (BSA), RMR per FFM, and RMR deviation (P for interaction < 0.1), in addition to a significant interaction between CC + CG group genotype and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) intake on RMR per BMI (P for interaction =0.00) and RMR per kg (P for interaction = 0.02) and RMR per BSA (P = 0.07), compared to the GG group, after control for confounder factors.

CONCLUSION

These results highlight that dietary compositions, gene variants, and their interaction, should be acutely considered in lower RMR.

Gestational weight gain in sub-Saharan Africa: Estimation based on pseudo-cohort design

Background

Inadequate or excess gestational weight gain (GWG) leads to multiple undesirable birth outcomes. Yet, in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) little is known about the weight gain pattern in pregnancy. The purpose of the study is to estimate the average gestational weight gain (GWG) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and to examined whether there had been recent improvements or not.

Methods

Based on cross-sectional anthropometric data extracted from multiple Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in SSA, we estimated the average GWG in the region. Pseudo-cohort design was used to reconstruct GWG trajectories based on aggregated data of 110,482 women extracted from 30 recent surveys. Trend in GWG between 2000 and 2015 was determined using the data of 11 SSA countries. Pre-pregnancy weight was estimated based on the weight of non-pregnant women at risk of conception.

Results

On average, women in SSA gain inadequate weight (6.6 kg, 95% confidence interval, 6.0–7.2) over pregnancy. No meaningful gain was observed in the first trimester; whereas, women in the second and third trimesters put on 2.2 and 3.2 kg, respectively. The highest weight gain (10.5, 8.2–12.9 kg) was observed in Southern African sub-region and the lowest in Western Africa (5.8, 5.0–6.6 kg). The GWG among women who had secondary or above education (9.5, 8.2–10.9 kg) was higher than women with lower education (5.0, 4.3–5.8 kg). Likewise, GWG in women from richest households (9.0, 7.2–10.7 kg) was superior to those from poorest households (6.1, 5.3–7.0 kg). The estimated recent (2015–20) mean GWG (6.6, 5.8–7.4 kg) was not significantly different from what had been at beginning of the new millennium (6.7, 5.9–7.5 kg).

Conclusion

In SSA GWG is extremely low and is not showing improvements.

Associations of Body Mass Index with Demographics, Lifestyle, Food Intake, and Mental Health among Postpartum Women: A Structural Equation Approach

As postpartum obesity is becoming a global public health challenge, there is a need to apply postpartum obesity modeling to determine the indicators of postpartum obesity using an appropriate statistical technique. This research comprised two phases, namely: (i) development of a previously created postpartum obesity modeling; (ii) construction of a statistical comparison model and introduction of a better estimator for the research framework. The research model displayed the associations and interactions between the variables that were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method to determine the body mass index (BMI) levels related to postpartum obesity. The most significant correlations obtained were between BMI and other substantial variables in the SEM analysis. The research framework included two categories of data related to postpartum women: living in urban and rural areas in Iran. The SEM output with the Bayesian estimator was 81.1%, with variations in the postpartum women's BMI, which is related to their demographics, lifestyle, food intake, and mental health. Meanwhile, the variation based on SEM with partial least squares estimator was equal to 70.2%, and SEM with a maximum likelihood estimator was equal to 76.8%. On the other hand, the output of the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MPE) for the Bayesian estimator is lower than the maximum likelihood and partial least square estimators. Thus, the predicted values of the SEM with Bayesian estimator are closer to the observed value compared to maximum likelihood and partial least square. In conclusion, the higher values of R-square and lower values of MPE, RMSE, and MSE will produce better goodness of fit for SEM with Bayesian estimators.

Prevention of Excessive Gestational Weight Gain and Postpartum Weight Retention

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this review is to summarize the current evidence on the prevention of excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) and reduction of postpartum weight retention (PPWR) by lifestyle intervention and pharmacotherapy.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent findings demonstrate that tailored nutrition counseling and adapting certain eating patterns, supervised exercise programs aiming at achieving at least moderate level of physical activity, and interactive and monitored behavior change interventions are effective in reducing excessive GWG and PPWR. Among the pharmacologic agents, Metformin has been shown to reduce GWG. Excessive GWG and PPWR are associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Recent evidence shows that weight during gestation and the postpartum period can be significantly reduced by more frequent nutrition counseling sessions on balanced diet focusing on healthier food choices and eating patterns, supervised moderate-intensity exercise for at least 30 min three times a week, and interactive behavior change interventions with regular feedback and follow-up. The benefits on weight are seen when these interventions are utilized together in a multimodality approach. Metformin is effective in preventing excessive GWG but has no impact on neonatal outcomes.