<h1>"Foafoaga o le Ola" (Beginning of Life) Study (Samoa)</h1>

We are particularly interested in pregnancy and the early postpartum period as an opportune moment for intervention for obesity and obesity-related non-communicable diseases in the Samoan setting – both from a biological and behavioral standpoint. This study will aim to recruit approximately 150 Samoan neonates (within the first 48 hours of life) and their mothers to understand: (a) what prenatal factors are associated with body composition at birth (assessed using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan); (b) what pre- and post-natal factors are associated with infant growth and changes in body composition in the first four months of life.

Timeline: This study will be actively recruiting participants in Apia, Samoa between June and September 2017, with follow up of participants continuing until January 2018.

Principal Investigators: Kendall Arslanian (Yale PhD Candidate, Anthropology), Nicola Hawley (YSPH), Claudia Valeggia (Yale Anthropology) and Tapa Fidow (TTM Hospital, Samoa)

Co-Investigators: Stephen McGarvey (Brown University), Richard Bribiescas (Yale Anthropology)

Funding Source: Yale University MacMillan Center grant to Kendall Arslanian

Affiliated Students: Maddie Rodman (Brown University, Undergraduate), Elise Clafferty (Brown Undergraduate), Theresa Atanoa (UCSC Undergraduate), Erica Kocher (Yale Undergraduate).