According to the study, as the body mass index of pregnant mothers increased from the years 1990 to 2005, so did a measure of body fat composition in newborns known as the ponderal index.

Use of tri-ponderal body mass index (TMI; weight divided by height cubed) may be more accurate than traditional body mass index (BMI) for estimating body fat among adolescents, a new study suggests.

A high ponderal index at birth has been associated with ... Characteristics of the 1040 mothers and babies are presented in Table 1. Mean birth weight was 3152 (s.d. 762) g and the mean ...