title: Exercise before and during pregnancy prevents the deleterious effects of maternal high-fat feeding on metabolic health of male offspring.
abstract: The intrauterine environment during pregnancy is a critical factor in the development of diabetes and obesity in offspring. To determine the effects of maternal exercise during pregnancy on the metabolic health of offspring, 6-week-old C57BL/6 virgin female mice were fed a chow (21%) or high-fat (60%) diet and divided into four subgroups: trained (housed with running wheels for 2 weeks preconception and during gestation), prepregnancy trained (housed with running wheels for 2 weeks preconception), gestation trained (housed with running wheels during gestation), or sedentary (static cages). Male offspring were chow fed, sedentary, and studied at 8, 12, 24, 36, and 52 weeks of age. Offspring from chow-fed dams that trained both before and during gestation had improved glucose tolerance beginning at 8 weeks of age and continuing throughout the 1st year of life, and at 52 weeks of age had significantly lower serum insulin concentrations and percent body fat compared with all other groups. High-fat feeding of sedentary dams resulted in impaired glucose tolerance, increased serum insulin concentrations, and increased percent body fat in offspring. Remarkably, maternal exercise before and during gestation ameliorated the detrimental effect of a maternal high-fat diet on the metabolic profile of offspring. Exercise before and during pregnancy may be a critical component for combating the increasing rates of diabetes and obesity.
authors.affiliation: Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Kristin I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Stanford
authors.affiliation: Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Min-Young
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Kristen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Getchell
authors.affiliation: Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Kawai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: So
authors.affiliation: Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Hirshman
authors.affiliation: Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, Joslin Diabetes Center, Boston, MA Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA laurie.goodyear@joslin.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Laurie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Goodyear
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism; D008098:Litter Size; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012744:Sex Ratio
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004041:Dietary Fats; D007328:Insulin; D005947:Glucose