Maternal obesity at conception programs obesity in the offspring
Kartik Shankar1, Amanda Harrell, Xiaoli Liu
1Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center, 1212 Marshall Street, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA. ShankarKartik@uams.edu
Summary
Maternal obesity during pregnancy can program offspring for adult obesity. Offspring of obese rats gained more weight and body fat on a high-fat diet, suggesting fetal programming.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive biology
- Developmental biology
- Metabolic disorders
Background:
- Obesity is a growing global health concern with complex origins.
- Fetal programming, where the in utero environment influences later-life health, is a key area of research.
- Maternal nutrition and metabolic status are critical factors in fetal development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if maternal obesity during gestation increases offspring's risk of obesity.
- To establish and utilize an overfeeding model of maternal obesity in rats.
- To determine the long-term effects of in utero exposure to maternal obesity on offspring metabolism.
Main Methods:
- Developed an overfeeding model of maternal obesity using intragastric feeding in rats.
- Cross-fostered offspring to control for postnatal environmental influences.
- Assessed offspring body weight, body composition (NMR, CT scans), adipose tissue, insulin sensitivity, and food intake.
- Fed offspring either standard or high-fat diets post-weaning.
Main Results:
- Maternal obesity induced significant weight gain, adiposity, and insulin resistance in dams.
- Offspring birth weight and size were unaffected by maternal obesity.
- Offspring from obese dams showed no difference in body weight on a standard diet.
- Offspring from obese dams exhibited significantly greater weight gain and body fat percentage on a high-fat diet.
Conclusions:
- Maternal obesity during conception leads to fetal programming in offspring.
- This programming increases the susceptibility of offspring to develop obesity later in life, particularly when exposed to a high-fat diet.
- The findings highlight the critical role of maternal metabolic health in preventing offspring obesity.
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