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Developmental Perspectives on the Origins of Obesity

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Adipose Tissue and Adipokines in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

This chapter reviews the developmental pathways contributing to the origin of obesity. Evolutionary considerations are emphasized. At birth more than half of a human baby’s metabolism is devoted to the brain and it is suggested that the extreme neonatal and early childhood adiposity of humans is an adaptation to provide an energy reserve during periods of nutritional stress arising from infections and the process of weaning. This chapter also reviews the substantial experimental and clinical evidence for prenatal and early postnatal factors in the development of obesity. Developmental pathways that may lead to obesity include fetal undernutrition caused by an impaired intrauterine environment, fetal overnutrition and macrosomia caused by maternal diabetes, and infant overnutrition caused by excessive early feeding. There is evidence for interactions between these pathways and for intergenerational influences. Finally, this chapter discusses the implications for the global obesity epidemic of mismatch between the genotype, environment, and lifestyle, and underlines the potential role of inappropriate adaptive responses during development in populations undergoing rapid nutritional transition.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

    Christopher W. Kuzawa PhD, MsPH

  2. Centre for Human Evolution, Adaptation, and Disease, Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, and National Research Centre for Growth and Development, Auckland, New Zealand

    Peter D. Gluckman CNZM, MBChB, MMedSc, DSc

  3. Centre for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    Mark A. Hanson MA, Dphil,CertEd, FRCOG

Authors
  1. Christopher W. Kuzawa PhD, MsPH
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  2. Peter D. Gluckman CNZM, MBChB, MMedSc, DSc
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  3. Mark A. Hanson MA, Dphil,CertEd, FRCOG
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

    Giamila Fantuzzi PhD

  2. Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL

    Theodore Mazzone MD

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© 2007 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Kuzawa, C.W., Gluckman, P.D., Hanson, M.A. (2007). Developmental Perspectives on the Origins of Obesity. In: Fantuzzi, G., Mazzone, T. (eds) Adipose Tissue and Adipokines in Health and Disease. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-370-7_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-370-7_16

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-58829-721-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59745-370-7

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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