SHORT COMMUNICATION Maternal lean body mass may be the major determinant of birth weight: a study from India B Kulkarni, V Shatrugna and N Balakrishna National Institute of Nutrition (Indian Council of Medical Research), Clinical Division, Jamai Osmania, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India This study explored the relationship of maternal body composition parameters to the birth weight of the offspring. Maternal anthropometric parameters (weight, height) and body composition by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry were measured in 76 women from low-income group during 12–21 days postpartum. The mean7s.d. height, weight of the mothers and birth weight of the newborns were 151.575.29 cm, 46.776.04 and 2.8470.358 kg, respectively. When the relationship of maternal anthropometric and body composition parameters to the infants’ birth weight was studied, maternal lean body mass was found to be the most important determinant of birth weight (R 2 (%) ¼ 21.3) (Po0.001). This study highlights the importance of increasing lean body mass in young women for better pregnancy outcome. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2006) 60, 1341–1344. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602461; published online 21 June 2006 Keywords: maternal weight; maternal body composition; birth weight; Indian women Introduction Birth weight is an important determinant of infants’ well- being and low birth weight (LBW) is known to increase the risk of adult onset chronic diseases (Yajnik, 2001; Barker, 2004). The mean birth weight among the low socioeconomic group of women in India is around 2.7 kg and one-third of these newborns are LBW (o2.5 kg) (UNICEF, 2004). It is well established that maternal nutritional status has a significant influence on the birth weight of the baby (Kramer, 1987; Naidu and Rao, 1994; Thame et al., 2004). Studies from India and other parts of the world have demonstrated the role of pre-pregnant weight and weight gain during pregnancy on the fetal size (Raman et al., 1995; Ehrenberg et al., 2003; Ronnenberg et al., 2003). However, very few studies from India have explored the role of components of maternal weight, that is, fat mass and lean mass on the infant’s birth weight. A study was therefore carried out to explore the role of maternal body composition on the birth weight of the newborn. Subjects and methods Seventy-six women who delivered in a large Government Maternity Hospital (Hyderabad, India) and came to the Nutrition Unit for their first follow-up during the period of January 2002 to September 2002 were recruited consecu- tively for this study. None of them refused. Most of the women visited the unit on days 12–21 postpartum. Back- ground information was collected and maternal weight was measured without footwear to the nearest 0.1 kg on lever type SECA balance (Hamburg, Germany). Heights were measured to the nearest 0.1 cm with a stadiometer (SECA, UK). Body composition was assessed at the same time by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (Hologic 4500W, Waltham, MA, USA), which is one of the latest technologies with high precision. Birth weights were recorded from the delivery notes. Validity of the recorded birth weights was assured by calibration of the instrument and calculating intra- and inter-individual variations. Statistical analysis SPSS 11.5 Windows version was used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all the parameters. Received 23 May 2005; revised 9 March 2006; accepted 2 May 2006; published online 21 June 2006 Correspondence: Dr V Shatrugna, National Institute of Nutrition (Indian Council of Medical Research), Jamai Osmania PO, Hyderabad 500 007, Andhra Pradesh, India. E-mail: veena52@yahoo.com Guarantor: Dr V Shatrugna. Contributors: BK and VS contributed to the study design, subject recruitment, interpretation of the results and manuscript preparation. NB carried out the statistical analysis of the data. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2006) 60, 1341–1344 & 2006 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0954-3007/06 $30.00 www.nature.com/ejcn