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Early postnatal life as a critical time window for determination of long-term metabolic health

Andreas Plagemann1, Thomas Harder, Karen Schellong

  • 1Division of 'Experimental Obstetrics', Clinic of Obstetrics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin, Germany. andreas.plagemann@charite.de

Best Practice & Research. Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
|September 18, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Neonatal nutrition significantly impacts long-term health, influencing cardiometabolic risk regardless of birth weight. Early overfeeding and nutrition type (breastfeeding vs. formula) can lead to later health issues like obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Metabolic research
  • Nutritional science

Background:

  • Epidemiological studies link low birth weight to increased cardiometabolic risk, similar to high birth weight.
  • Neonatal overfeeding is a potential etiological factor for later metabolic dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of neonatal nutrition in long-term health and disease programming.
  • To investigate the mechanisms linking neonatal nutrition to cardiometabolic risk.

Main Methods:

  • Review of epidemiological and animal studies on birth weight and neonatal nutrition.
  • Analysis of human studies comparing breastfeeding and formula feeding outcomes.
  • Consideration of epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation.

Main Results:

  • Neonatal over-nutrition in animal models leads to overweight, impaired glucose tolerance, and cardiometabolic alterations, irrespective of birth weight.
  • Human studies confirm the long-term impact of neonatal nutrition, highlighting differences between breastfeeding and formula feeding.
  • Alterations in DNA methylation patterns of key metabolic genes are implicated as a mediating mechanism.

Conclusions:

  • Neonatal nutrition quality and quantity play a critical role in long-term health programming beyond prenatal development.
  • Understanding these mechanisms offers opportunities for primary prevention of chronic diseases like metabolic syndrome.

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