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Neonatal anthropometry: the thin–fat Indian baby. The Pune Maternal Nutrition Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine body size and fat measurements of babies born in rural India and compare them with white Caucasian babies born in an industrialised country.

DESIGN: Community-based observational study in rural India, and comparison with data from an earlier study in the UK, measured using similar methods.

SUBJECTS: A total of 631 term babies born in six rural villages, near the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India, and 338 term babies born in the Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, UK.

MEASUREMENTS: Maternal weight and height, and neonatal weight, length, head, mid-upper-arm and abdominal circumferences, subscapular and triceps skinfold thicknesses, and placental weight.

RESULTS: The Indian mothers were younger, lighter, shorter and had a lower mean body mass index (BMI) (mean age, weight, height and BMI: 21.4 y, 44.6 kg, 1.52 m, and 18.2 kg/m2) than Southampton mothers (26.8 y, 63.6 kg, 1.63 m and 23.4 kg/m2). They gave birth to lighter babies (mean birthweight: 2.7 kg compared with 3.5 kg). Compared to Southampton babies, the Indian babies were small in all body measurements, the smallest being abdominal circumference (s.d. score: −2.38; 95% CI: −2.48 to −2.29) and mid-arm circumference (s.d. score: −1.82; 95% CI: −1.89 to −1.75), while the most preserved measurement was the subscapular skinfold thickness (s.d. score: −0.53; 95% CI: −0.61 to −0.46). Skinfolds were relatively preserved in the lightest babies (below the 10th percentile of birthweight) in both populations.

CONCLUSIONS: Small Indian babies have small abdominal viscera and low muscle mass, but preserve body fat during their intrauterine development. This body composition may persist postnatally and predispose to an insulin-resistant state.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the community, in particular the pregnant women and their families, for taking part in this study. We would also like to thank Dr Mrs Banoo Coyaji, Director of the KEM Hospital, Pune, and initiator 25 years ago of the rural primary healthcare programme in the study area. We acknowledge the major contributions made to the study by Dr Arun Kinare, Dr Monesh Shah, Dr Asit Natekar, Dr Manoj Chinchwadkar, Dr Binu John, Dr Anuja Bisht, Dr Mahananda Bhavikatti, Dr Asawari Kanade, Mrs Punam Gupta, Mrs Parveen Bharucha, Miss Vanessa Cox and Dr Barrie Margetts. We also thank Mr Tim Wheeler, Reader in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton, UK, for the Southampton data. The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust, London, UK, the Medical Research Council, UK and SNEHA, India.

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Yajnik, C., Fall, C., Coyaji, K. et al. Neonatal anthropometry: the thin–fat Indian baby. The Pune Maternal Nutrition Study. Int J Obes 27, 173–180 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.802219

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