Childhood obesity prevention: a life-course framework

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatrics
• Maternal Health

Background:

• Maternal overweight/obesity is linked to offspring's predisposition for excessive fat storage from infancy.
• The maternal-child life-course approach highlights two key cycles influencing obesity risk.

Approach:

• The maternal cycle: pre-pregnancy overweight women experience greater gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention.
• The offspring cycle: newborns of overweight/obese mothers are prone to early-life fat accumulation.
• The social ecological model (SEM) provides a framework for understanding interconnected systems influencing obesity.

Key Points:

• Prenatal overweight/obesity prevention is crucial for mothers.
• Achieving adequate gestational weight gain and postpartum weight loss is recommended.
• Promoting optimal breastfeeding, complementary feeding, physical activity, and healthy dietary habits in children is essential.

Conclusions:

• Prenatal overweight/obesity prevention, adequate gestational weight gain, and postpartum weight loss are crucial for mothers.
• Promoting optimal breastfeeding, complementary feeding, physical activity, and healthy dietary habits are key for offspring.
• National obesity prevention programs require inter-sectorial coordination and SEM-driven early life systems analysis.