Excess nutrient supply in early life and its later metabolic consequences.
Suboptimal nutrition in early life, both in utero and during infancy, is linked to increased risk of adult obesity and its associated adverse metabolic health problems. Excess nutrient supply during early life can lead to metabolic programming in the offspring. Such overnutrition can occur in the offspring of obese mothers, the offspring of mothers who gain excess weight during gestation, infants of diabetic mothers and infants who undergo rapid growth, particularly weight gain, during early infancy. Postnatal overnutrition is particularly detrimental for infants who are born small for gestational age, who are overfed to attain 'catch-up growth'. Potential mechanisms underlying metabolic programming that results from excess nutrition during early life include resetting of hypothalamic energy sensing and appetite regulation, altered adipose tissue insulin sensitivity and impaired brown adipose tissue function. More detailed understanding of the mechanisms involved in metabolic programming could enable the development of therapeutic strategies for ameliorating its ill effects. Research in this field could potentially identify optimal and appropriate preventative interventions for a burgeoning population at risk of increased mortality and morbidity from obesity and its concomitant metabolic conditions.
The Early Life Nutrition Research Unit, Academic Division of Child Health, School of Clinical Sciences, University Hospital, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Shalini
S
Ojha
Vivek
V
Saroha
Michael E
ME
Symonds
Helen
H
Budge
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D050154:Adiposity; D000818:Animals; D001724:Birth Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D044343:Overnutrition / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011254:Pregnancy in Diabetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D012306:Risk; D015430:Weight Gain
appetite; brown adipose tissue; hypothalamus; infant; maternal nutrition