Overweight status and intrauterine exposure to gestational diabetes are associated with children's metabolic health

Summary Background Offspring of women with gestational diabetes (OGD) have greater risk for obesity and impaired metabolic health. Whether impaired metabolic health occurs in the absence of obesity is not clear. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the independent and interactive effects of intrauterine exposure to gestational diabetes and of children's current weight status on their metabolic health. Methods Children aged 5–10 years (n = 51) with and without intrauterine exposure to gestational diabetes (OGD vs. offspring of non‐diabetic women [CTRL]) were grouped into normal weight (body mass index [BMI] 85th %) according to Centers for Disease Control growth curves. Lipid profile was obtained by fasting blood draw, insulin sensitivity (SI) and secretion by liquid meal tolerance test, and body composition by dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry. Results Despite similar average BMI percentiles among normal weight OGD versus CTRL, and overweight OGD vs. CTRL, OGD had greater total %fat and trunk fat adjusted for leg fat compared with CTRL (P