Gestational weight gain and child nutritional outcomes in East Coast Peninsular Malaysia: protocol for the 10-year prospective GROW-MY cohort study.

Abstract

Childhood overweight and obesity are growing public health concerns in Malaysia. Increasing evidence suggests that early-life factors, including maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) and nutritional status, contribute to long-term child health outcomes. The Gestational Weight Gain and Child Nutritional Outcomes in East Coast Malaysia study is a 10-year prospective cohort established to investigate the intergenerational effects of maternal GWG on the nutritional and metabolic health of their respective offspring living in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This study follows up a cohort of mother-child pairs (n=499) initially recruited during pregnancy in 2014 from maternal and child health clinics in Kota Bharu, Kelantan and Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. At the 10-year follow-up scheduled for 2026, anthropometric assessments, body composition and dietary intake will be collected from both mothers and their children. GWG classifications will be made in accordance with the Institute of Medicine guidelines. Multivariate regression models will be used to evaluate the relationship between GWG and childhood outcomes, including body mass index-for-age, mothers' nutritional status and other metabolic risk indicators. Ethical approval of this study was obtained from the Medical Research Ethics Committee of the Ministry of Health Malaysia (NMRR-12-1256-13141). Apart from that, human ethical approval (FWA Reg. No: 00007718; IRB Reg. No: 00004494) was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee Universiti Sains Malaysia. Findings will be disseminated through academic and professional conferences and peer-reviewed literature. Additionally, findings and analyses will be disseminated to the Ministry of Health (MoH) through regular presentations. The investigators also plan a public-facing podcast of the study findings and related topics to disseminate results to participants, the MoH and the general public.