Melbourne researchers hope to develop test to find which bubs will grow up obese

MELBOURNE researchers are working to develop a test they hope will find which newborns have the greatest risk of growing up obese.

MELBOURNE researchers are working to develop a test they hope will identify which newborns have the greatest risk of growing up obese.

The aim is to allow for earlier intervention.

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By scanning the blood of newborns and their mothers, Baker IDI scientists believe they can identify children likely to develop metabolic conditions that will lead to weight gain and health issues.

Lipid tests are used to scan for cholesterol and triglycerides in adults, however Associate Professor Peter Meikle and his team will undertake much wider screening.

They will examine up to 600 markers in infants to determine which ones appear to influence obesity.

“We are trying to use this combination of lipodomic profile combined with genetic profiles to identify those children that are on these adverse health trajectories,” Assoc Prof Meikle said.

“We can look at those factors very early in life, even at birth or potentially even in utero by looking at the mother’s diet and health as well.

“Potentially, this could be incorporated into newborn screening which already exists for a whole range of genetic diseases.

“This is a step well beyond that because we are not really talking about a genetic disease, we are talking about the risk of disease somewhere down the track. But the technology is there to do all this in the newborn period.”

Melbourne researchers are working to develop a test they hope will identify which newborns have the greatest risk of growing up obese.

Backed by a $350,000 federal government grant announced this week, the Baker researchers will examine blood samples collected at birth from 2000 children born in Australia and Singapore five years ago, and compare the results with their current health status.

The Melbourne researchers hope to find which markers are common in children who are now growing up obese or with metabolic conditions, but which are not present in those with a healthier profile.

While the project is in its infancy, Assoc Prof Meikle said being able to identify which children required greater mat­ernal health attention would have a huge impact on their health, as well as the wider community.

“It is very difficult and expensive if you try to apply those types of interventions that are available to every child,” he said.

“But if we can identify those that are really at high risk, then we can target those interventions and stop them going down that path.”

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