Maternal Influence on Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity has risen to epidemic proportions worldwide, posing significant challenges for health systems and long-term wellbeing. Maternal factors play a central role in shaping a child’s propensity to gain excess weight, acting through intrauterine programming, metabolic signalling and early-life environmental cues. Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain establish metabolic trajectories that influence adiposity throughout infancy, childhood and adolescence. Excessive maternal weight before or during pregnancy alters placental nutrient transport, insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism, predisposing offspring to higher fat mass and cardiometabolic risk.

Maternal lifestyle behaviours—diet quality, smoking status, physical activity and exposure to pollutants—further modulate gene expression via epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation. These changes may persist across the lifespan, contributing to intergenerational transmission of obesity risk. Postnatal factors including mode of delivery, breastfeeding practices and maternal responsiveness to feeding cues shape energy balance and gut microbiota colonisation. Caesarean delivery and early formula feeding have been linked to higher obesity rates, whereas longer exclusive breastfeeding shows modest protective effects.

Identification of critical windows from preconception to early infancy has spurred interventions focused on nutritional counselling, weight management and risk profiling in women of reproductive age. A life-course approach that integrates maternal health optimisation with public health policy holds promise for breaking cycles of obesity in diverse populations.

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Maternal Influence on Childhood Obesity publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in maternal influence on childhood obesity across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Body mass index (BMI): weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres, used to classify underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obesity.

Gestational weight gain (GWG): total maternal weight gain during pregnancy, often assessed against clinical guidelines to gauge risk of adverse outcomes.

Exposome: the full spectrum of environmental exposures encountered from conception onwards, including chemical, physical and social factors.

Epigenetic modification: heritable changes in gene expression without alteration of the DNA sequence, such as DNA methylation and histone acetylation.

Odds ratio (OR): a measure of association quantifying the odds of an outcome occurring in an exposed group relative to a non-exposed group.

Anthropometric measurements: systematic measures of body size and composition, including weight, height and body fat distribution.

References

1. Prenatal environmental exposures associated with sex differences in childhood obesity and neurodevelopment. BMC Medicine (2023).
2. Association of Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Overweight and Obesity with Childhood Anthropometric Factors and Perinatal and Postnatal Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients (2023).
3. Independent and Joint Effects of Prenatal Incense-Burning Smoke Exposure and Children’s Early Outdoor Activity on Preschoolers’ Obesity. Toxics (2024).