Adiposity and hyperinsulinemia in Indians are present at birth.

We studied body size and cord blood leptin and insulin concentrations in newborn urban Indian (Pune, India) and white Caucasian (London, UK) babies to test the hypothesis that the adiposity and hyperinsulinemia of Indians are present at birth. Indian babies (n = 157) were lighter in weight compared with white Caucasian babies [n = 67; median weight, 2805 g vs. 3475 g, respectively; P < 0.001, adjusted for gestational age and sex; -1.52 SD score; confidence interval (CI), -1.66, -1.42] and had smaller abdominal (-2.39 SD score; CI, -2.52, -2.09), midarm (-1.47 SD score; CI, -1.58, -1.34), and head (-1.23 SD score; CI, -1.42, -1.13) circumferences. However, their skinfolds were relatively preserved: subscapular (central) skinfold (-0.32 SD score; CI, -0.43, -0.20) was better preserved than triceps (peripheral) skinfold (-0.86 SD score; CI, -0.97, -0.75). Cord plasma leptin (median, 6.2 ng/ml Pune and 6.4 ng/ml London) and insulin (median, 34.7 pmol/liter Pune and 20.8 pmol/liter London) concentrations were comparable in the two populations but were higher in Indians when adjusted for birth weight, confirming relative adiposity and hyperinsulinemia of Indian babies. Indian mothers were smaller in all respects, compared with white Caucasian mothers, except subscapular skinfold, which was similar in the two populations. Our results support the intrauterine origin of adiposity, central adiposity, and hyperinsulinemia in Indians. Further research should concentrate on elucidating genetic and environmental influences on fetal growth and body composition. Prevention of insulin resistance syndrome in Indians will need to address regulation of fetal growth in addition to prevention of obesity in later life.

[1]  K. Nagashima,et al.  Relationship between concentration of serum leptin and fetal growth. , 1997, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[2]  B. Persson,et al.  Leptin concentrations in cord blood in normal newborn infants and offspring of diabetic mothers. , 1999, Hormone and metabolic research = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme.

[3]  H. Lebovitz,et al.  Body composition, visceral fat, leptin, and insulin resistance in Asian Indian men. , 1999, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[4]  V. Mohan,et al.  High prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in India: National Urban Diabetes Survey , 2001, Diabetologia.

[5]  L. Sjostrom,et al.  Computed tomography-determined body composition in relation to cardiovascular risk factors in Indian and matched Swedish males. , 1996, Metabolism: clinical and experimental.

[6]  D. Bhat,et al.  Fetal Growth and Glucose and Insulin Metabolism in Four‐year‐old Indian Children , 1995, Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association.

[7]  J. Neel.  Diabetes mellitus: a "thrifty" genotype rendered detrimental by "progress"? , 1962, American journal of human genetics.

[8]  C. Rodeck,et al.  Leptin concentrations in maternal serum and cord blood: relationship to maternal anthropometry and fetal growth , 1999, British journal of obstetrics and gynaecology.

[9]  V. Gupta,et al.  Meta-analysis of coronary heart disease prevalence in India. , 1996, Indian heart journal.

[10]  E. Ravussin,et al.  Leptin levels in human and rodent: Measurement of plasma leptin and ob RNA in obese and weight-reduced subjects , 1995, Nature Medicine.

[11]  C. Yajnik,et al.  Interactions of perturbations in intrauterine growth and growth during childhood on the risk of adult-onset disease , 2000, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.

[12]  S. Dhawan.  Birth weights of infants of first generation Asian women in Britain compared with second generation Asian women , 1995, BMJ.

[13]  M. Marmot,et al.  Relation of central obesity and insulin resistance with high diabetes prevalence and cardiovascular risk in South Asians , 1991, The Lancet.

[14]  Asawari N. Kanade,et al.  Intake of micronutrient-rich foods in rural Indian mothers is associated with the size of their babies at birth: Pune Maternal Nutrition Study. , 2001, The Journal of nutrition.

[15]  D. Cook,et al.  Early evidence of ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk: cross sectional comparison of British South Asian and white children , 2002, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[16]  H. Koistinen,et al.  Leptin concentration in cord blood correlates with intrauterine growth. , 1997 .

[17]  J. Clapp,et al.  Cord Blood Leptin Reflects Fetal Fat Mass , 1998, The Journal of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation: JSGI.

[18]  D. Simmons,et al.  Differences in umbilical cord insulin and birth weight in non-diabetic pregnancies of women from different ethnic groups in New Zealand , 1994, Diabetologia.

[19]  C. Maffeis,et al.  Leptin concentration in newborns’ cord blood: relationship to gender and growth-regulating hormones , 1999, International Journal of Obesity.

[20]  S. Grundy,et al.  Relationship between generalized and upper body obesity to insulin resistance in Asian Indian men. , 1999, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[21]  C. Fall,et al.  Insulin resistance syndrome in 8-year-old Indian children: small at birth, big at 8 years, or both? , 1999, Diabetes.

[22]  G. Fried,et al.  Plasma Leptin in Infants: Relations to Birth Weight and Weight Loss , 1998, Pediatrics.

[23]  C. Yajnik,et al.  Central Rather than Generalized Obesity is Related to Hyperglycaemia in Asian Indian Subjects , 1991, Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association.

[24]  M. Landt,et al.  Plasma Leptin Concentrations in Newborns of Diabetic and Nondiabetic Mothers , 1998, American journal of perinatology.

[25]  S. Y. Kim,et al.  The Relationship of the Levels of Leptin, Insulin-like Growth Factor-I and Insulin in Cord Blood with Birth Size, Ponderal Index, and Gender Difference , 2000, Journal of pediatric endocrinology & metabolism : JPEM.