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Birth weight and body composition in young adult men—a prospective twin study

International Journal of Obesity volume 25, pages 1537–1545 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between birth weight and adult body composition in twins, controlling for maternal and genetic influences.

DESIGN: Twins were randomly selected from the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey, a population-based historic twin cohort.

SUBJECTS: Male members of 229 twin pairs between 18 and 34 y of age who participated in the Prenatal Programming Twin Study.

MEASUREMENTS: Adult body mass, height, BMI, lean body mass, sum of skinfolds and waist-to-hip-ratio. Lean body mass, sum of skinfolds and waist-to-hip-ratio were also adjusted for body mass. Intra-pair difference in adult anthropometric measures between the heaviest and the lightest twin at birth.

RESULTS: Per kg increase in birth weight, body mass (4.2 kg), height (3.3 cm), lean body mass (3.1 kg) and to a lesser extent BMI (0.49 kg/m2) increased, whereas waist-to-hip-ratio (−1.4%) and sum of skinfolds (−0.11 s.d.) decreased, when adjusted for body mass. In a pair-wise analysis, the heavier twin at birth was taller and heavier as an adult, but, when adjusted for body mass, he had a lower waist-to-hip-ratio, less subcutaneous fat, and more lean body mass, compared to his lighter sib. Intra-pair difference in body composition was associated with intra-pair birth weight difference in monozygotic and dizygotic twins.

CONCLUSIONS: An adverse intra-uterine environment, as measured by birth weight, is associated with more subcutaneous and abdominal fat and less lean body mass in adulthood. This association is independent of maternal and genetic influences. However, we cannot exclude the existence of genes that act on both birth weight and adult body composition.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to all the twins who took part in the study and to Kathleen Gysen, Hilde Van Gucht, and Nathalie Muermans who carried out the field-work. The Prenatal Programming Twin Study was funded by the National Fund for Scientific Research, Belgium (no. 3.0269.97). The East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey is partly supported by the Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births. Ruth Loos is supported by a grant from the Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders (Belgium). Robert Fagard is holder of the Professor A Amery Chair in Hypertension Research, founded by M.S.D.-Belgium.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sport and Movement Sciences, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

    RJF Loos & G Beunen

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Center for Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

    RJF Loos, C Derom & R Vlietinck

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Hypertension and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Unit, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

    R Fagard

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  1. RJF Loos
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  2. G Beunen
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  3. R Fagard
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  4. C Derom
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  5. R Vlietinck
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Correspondence to RJF Loos.

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Loos, R., Beunen, G., Fagard, R. et al. Birth weight and body composition in young adult men—a prospective twin study. Int J Obes 25, 1537–1545 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801743

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