Maternal health issues and cardio-metabolic outcomes in the offspring: a focus on Indigenous populations

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of death worldwide. Indigenous populations are disproportionally affected. In an effort to halt the increasing disease burden, the mechanisms underlying the increasing rate of NCDs are an important area of study. Recent evidence has focused on the perinatal period as an influential period impacting the future cardio-metabolic health of the offspring. This concept has been defined as metabolic foetal programming and supports the importance of the developmental origins of health and disease in research and clinical practice, specifically in prevention efforts to protect future generations from NCDs. An understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved is not clear as of yet. However, an understanding of these mechanisms is imperative in order to plan effective intervention strategies. As much of the discussion below is gleaned from large epidemiological studies and animal studies, further research with prospective cohorts is necessary.