Metabolic flexibility during late pregnancy is associated with neonatal adiposity.

The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between maternal metabolic flexibility during pregnancy and neonatal health outcomes. Percent change in lipid oxidation (before and after a high-fat meal) was calculated as the measure of 'metabolic flexibility'. Neonatal adiposity was assessed within 48 hours of delivery by skinfold anthropometry. Metabolic flexibility (r=-.271, p=0.034), maternal HOMA-IR (r=0.280, p=0.030), and maternal BMI (r=0.299, p=0.018) were correlated with neonatal subscapular skinfold (i.e. measure of neonatal adiposity). Clinical Trail Registration Number: NCT03504319. Novelty Bullets: • This is the first study to link maternal metabolic flexibility, body mass index, and insulin resistance during pregnancy to neonatal adiposity at parturition.