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Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Development and Validation of a Methodology for Establishing Obese Rat Models with Typical Fatty Pancreas
Published on: November 11, 2025
Developmental and Transmittable Origins of Obesity-Associated Health Disorders
Arin K Oestreich1, Kelle H Moley1
1Washington University in St Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110 USA.
Abstract:
The current global obesity pandemic is clearly linked to both the increasing prevalence of, and preference for, foods high in calories, specifically fat and sucrose, and declining levels of daily physical activity. A less commonly discussed possible explanation is that risk of obesity begins in utero as a result of developmental plasticity during early life. This idea fits into the broader Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DOHAD) hypothesis, which holds that stressful in utero exposure manifests as disease in adulthood. In this review, we highlight several studies that have revealed the role of epigenetics in multigenerational transmission of developmentally programmed obesity and associated cardiometabolic disease.
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