Influence of differences in birth weight on the muscle function of adult males

Consideration from a physical function examination in adulthood­

Abstract

With the recent introduction of the concept of epigenetics, the rise in the risk of non-communicable diseases such as metabolic syndrome (MS) based on the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory has become a concern. Japan has seen a rapid rise in low birth weight infants (LBWI) since the 2000 s. Therefore, with male college students born around the year 2000 as the subjects, an investigation was carried out for the purpose of confirming whether muscle function, which is deeply related to MS,was influenced by LBWI. From the subjects, an LBWI group (five subjects) anda normal birth weight infant (NBWI) group (five subjects) were extracted, after which items including muscle strength, exercise tolerability, height, body composition, blood pressure, abdominal circumference, and time spent exercising during school age and puberty were compared and examined between the two groups. As a result, while the LBWI group indicated a significantly lower value in terms of exercise tolerability (p<0.01), the other items did not have any significant differences. As a background of exercise tolerability in the LBWI group, it was suggested that increased insulin resistance in the skeletal muscles may have caused a decrease in energy production efficiency. From the viewpoint of MS prevention, the necessity of support for muscle function improvement in LBWIs before reaching adulthood was suggested.