From conception to infancy — early risk factors for childhood obesity

Abstract

Maternal lifestyle during pregnancy and early nutrition and environment of their offspring´s are considered relevant factors for childhood obesity preventative efforts.There are several models for the prediction of childhood overweight and obesity, but most of them have not been externally validated and the factors considered differ greatly among studies since the outcomes are predicted at different ages. The objective of the current review is to examine and interpret the knowledge on the early determinants of childhood obesity development in order to provide relevant strategies for daily clinical work. For this purpose, we have evaluated all the identified prenatal and postnatal factors potentially associated to child adiposity from conception up to the end of the second year of life. Actions to be considered are promoting healthy nutrition and healthy weight status at reproductive age and during pregnancy and monitoring carefully infant growth in order to detect early excessive weight gain. Pediatricians and other health care professionals should provide proper scientific individual nutritional advice to families to counteract excessive adiposity in the offspring. Based on systematic reviews, original papers and scientific reports we provide information to help setting up public health strategies to prevent childhood overweight and obesity

Proteomic and structural heart changes in obese rats are incompletely restored after weight loss

“…Thus the animals were young (28 days old) at the time the Western diet was introduced, reflecting ~ 8 months of human age [81] when infants begin receiving solid food [82]. The overconsumption of protein and sugars especially induce developmental obesity [83], and the global intake of the latter range from 1.9-13.4% in humans before 2 years of age [84] underlies the high dietary risk factors for the development of obesity in infants. Comprehensive proteomic evaluation was performed in the plasma and cardiac tissue of obese and CR-cured rats.…”

Molecular and Lifestyle Factors Modulating Obesity Disease

“…Gene variants associated with obesity may be responsible for excessive adiposity in children. Breastfeeding, formula feeding, rapid infant growth, macronutrient intake during infancy, complementary feeding, sleep duration, screen activities all are related with obesity risk [113]. Substantial increases in prevalence developed countries have been recorded [114].…”

Starting strong: Dietary, behavioral, and environmental factors that promote “strength” from conception to age 2 years

“…Research suggests that even paternal and maternal preconception health will directly and indirectly impact conception, the pregnancy, and the subsequent life-long health of the newborn (Kotelchuck and Lu 2017;Cirulli et al 2020). Epigenetic factors surrounding the pregnant woman continue to be extremely important throughout pregnancy, impacting the pregnancy's outcome, the mother's health, and the newborn's development (Shankar et al 2018;Larque et al 2019;Cirulli et al 2020). Maternal over-consumption or under-consumption of energy, or specific micronutrient imbalances in her diet, have the potential to alter the developmental trajectory of every cell, tissue, and organ in the emerging fetal body, depending on extent and timing during the 9 months of pregnancy.…”

“…The mother's physical and mental status throughout pregnancy will determine the in-utero environment of the growing fetus (Choi and Friso 2010;Kwon and Kim 2017;Shankar et al 2018). Contributors to adverse maternal well-being will alter fetal development, resulting in a high risk for later chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, cancers, obesity, and even behavioral disorders (Larque et al 2019;Khambadkone et al 2020). Epigenetic factors remain predominant stimuli for optimal growth and development in the months and years following birth (Shankar et al 2018).…”