Zhang W, et al. - In China, researchers assessed if maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) influences offspring growth from birth to 12 months. They gathered maternal pre-pregnancy body weight and height measurements throughout pregnancy and measured body weights and lengths of their children at birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months from a retrospective cohort of 3,764 mother–child dyads. Findings suggested a significant association of both pre-pregnancy BMI and GWG with the Z-scores for weight and for length during the first year of age. After controlling for potential confounding factors, they also noted an association of this interaction with a greater risk of overweight/obesity of offspring in early infancy. In order to prevent pediatric obesity, maintenance of appropriate maternal body weight before and during pregnancy, particularly during the first trimester is critical.