Associations Between Paternal Body Mass Index and Neurodevelopmental-Physical Outcomes in Small-for-Gestational-Age Children.

Objective

This study investigated the association between paternal preconception paternal body mass index (BMI) categories and physical/neurodevelopmental outcomes in Chinese small-for-gestational-age (SGA) children.

Methods

A prospective cohort study enrolled 412 singleton SGA infants born at Peking University People's Hospital in 2020-2022. Fathers were stratified into underweight, normal-weight, overweight, and obese groups. Follow-up assessments at 24-36 months evaluated growth parameters weight, height, BMI Z-scores and neurodevelopment using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3) and ASQ: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE). Multivariable regression was adjusted for paternal covariates.

Results

In SGA offspring, paternal underweight correlated with lower birth weights vs. normal/obese paternal BMI and the highest severe SGA rates. Prospective monitoring identified elevated BMI Z-scores (ΔZ = +0.40) and 8.7-fold heightened obesity risk in the paternal obesity group versus normal-weight counterparts. Neurodevelopmental evaluations demonstrated gross motor impairments in both underweight (ΔZ = -0.22) and obese paternal subgroups (ΔZ = -0.25) compared with the normal-weight group, with the obesity cohort additionally exhibiting problem-solving deficiencies (ΔZ = -0.19). The paternal obesity group manifested three-fold greater likelihood of social-emotional delays than the normal-weight group. The underweight and obese paternal groups showed 3.46-fold and 2.73-fold higher probabilities of gross motor deficits, respectively, while obesity was linked to 3.27-fold elevated problem-solving impairment risk-all comparisons versus normal paternal BMI. Overweight status showed no significant links to growth or neurodevelopmental outcomes. Normal-weight fathers had lower risks of obesity and neurodevelopmental issues.

Conclusions

This study revealed U-shaped paternal BMI-neurodevelopment links in SGA offspring. Paternal obesity raised offspring obesity/neurodevelopmental risks, while underweight linked to severe SGA and motor deficits, highlighting paternal weight optimization's modifiable role.