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Nutrient Intakes in Early Life and Risk of Obesity
Marie Françoise Rolland-Cachera1, Mouna Akrout2, Sandrine Péneau3
1Université Paris 13, Equipe de Recherche en Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle, Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Statistiques, Inserm (U1153), Inra (U1125), Cnam, COMUE Sorbonne Paris Cité, Bobigny F-93017, France. mf.cachera@uren.smbh.univ-paris13.fr.
Insights
Early life environmental factors, especially nutrition during the first 1000 days, significantly impact long-term health. Nutritional programming in infancy may explain the rise in childhood obesity and adult diseases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Nutritional Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Environmental factors in early life are increasingly linked to adult health outcomes.
- Early adiposity rebound in obese individuals suggests critical developmental periods for body fat accumulation.
- The first 1000 days, encompassing pregnancy and early infancy, are sensitive to environmental influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the long-term health implications of early life environmental exposures.
- To investigate the role of nutritional programming in early childhood on the development of obesity and related adult diseases.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of birth weight, growth velocity, and body mass index (BMI) trajectories.
- Review of evidence linking early nutritional patterns to later health outcomes.
- Examination of the concept of metabolic programming through early nutrition.
Main Results:
- Early life environmental conditions, particularly nutrition, significantly influence body mass index (BMI) trajectories.
- Specific dietary patterns in early childhood, such as high protein-low fat diets, may contribute to rising childhood obesity rates.
- Metabolic programming by early nutrition is a plausible mechanism for adult-onset diseases.
Conclusions:
- Environmental factors during the first 1000 days are critical determinants of long-term health.
- Early nutrition plays a key role in metabolic programming, influencing the risk of obesity and adult diseases.
- Understanding and optimizing early life nutrition is crucial for public health strategies to combat obesity.
Abstract:
There is increasing evidence that environmental factors in early life predict later health. The early adiposity rebound recorded in most obese subjects suggests that factors promoting body fat development have operated in the first years of life. Birth weight, growth velocity and body mass index (BMI) trajectories seem to be highly sensitive to the environmental conditions present during pregnancy and in early life ("The first 1000 days"). Particularly, nutritional exposure can have a long-term effect on health in adulthood. The high protein-low fat diet often recorded in young children may have contributed to the rapid rise of childhood obesity prevalence during the last decades. Metabolic programming by early nutrition could explain the development of later obesity and adult diseases.
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