Two essential nutrients, choline and betaine, play a long-term role in the prenatal stages when it comes to the growth of children, according to a new clinical study appearing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
 
Choline, an essential nutrient for humans, is known to play a role in maternal nutrition, with an influence on functional processes in the placenta such as improved nutrient transport and reducing the impact of inflammation processes. Betaine, according to prior research, has the potential to influence nutrient transport and regulate fetal genes in a way which normalizes fetal growth and metabolism.
 
In the present study, investigators analyzed mother-child outcomes sourced from 1,331 pregnant women who participated in the KOALA birth cohort study in the Netherlands. The investigators noted measurements of blood concentrations of choline and betaine in mothers during the third trimester of their pregnancies, and periodically analyzed the height and weight of cohort children from birth through the age of 8 years old.
 
“As the main results, we found that each 1-µmol/L increase of maternal plasma choline was associated with a mean 20-g higher weight gain in the first year of life. At 1-2 y, choline was associated with higher BMI z scores and slightly higher odds of having a BMI z score >1.04. Each 1-µmol/L increase of maternal plasma betaine was associated with 12 g higher weight gain in the first year of life, as well as with higher odds of having a BMI z score >1.04 at 1 and 2 years. Moreover, maternal plasma betaine was associated with higher odds of boys being overweight between ages 6 and 8 years when using home-visits data, but not parent-reported data,” the authors reported.
 
In terms of possible mechanisms of action, “Choline and betaine may interact with fat and glucose metabolism, especially when these macronutrients are in excess,” the authors concluded. They noted that choline supplementation in obesity animal models normalized homeostasis of placental macronutrients, reduced triglyceride accumulation, and reduced the expression of lipogenic genes in offspring. Choline’s strongest effects in human clinical trials to date have been in subjects with choline deficiency.
 
“Although the reported associations could be temporary and disappear at older ages, the persistent association that we found of betaine with BMI in boys needs to be confirmed in independent studies.”