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Maternal Obesity and Implications for Fetal Programming

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Diet, Nutrition, and Fetal Programming

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

Abstract

Obesity in pregnant women is now reported to be between 20% and 34%, impacting individuals of differing ages, races, ethnicities and socioeconomic status worldwide. Chronic, low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance are hallmarks of a normal pregnancy, but are exacerbated by maternal obesity, leading to further increases in inflammatory cytokines, insulin and lipids. Due to the central role of the placenta in regulating nutrient flow from mother to fetus, abnormal changes in the maternal metabolic milieu resulting from maternal obesity (MO) may alter placental vascularity, metabolism and/or nutrient transport function leading to alterations in fetal growth, metabolism and organ development, as described for other adverse obstetrics outcomes. Maternal obesity is linked to an increased incidence of offspring metabolic dysregulation including obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hyperperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a cadre of symptoms referred to as the metabolic syndrome. Strong evidence suggests that these changes are due to gene environment interactions in utero which produce transient and/or stable epigenetically-induced changes in gene expression. Further, the persistence of these abnormalities into the postnatal period, suggests that the developmental changes may have permanent effects that alter metabolic outcomes, linking maternal obesity to long term risk for metabolic diseases in the next generation. Life-course studies in human infants born to obese mothers, particularly at the molecular and cellular level in tissues relevant to metabolic syndrome are lacking. It is thus crucial that well characterized and relevant animal models of diet-induced MO be utilized in obtain information on the specific molecular and biochemical mechanisms involved in postnatal obesity and metabolic dysregulation in offspring.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for the Study of Fetal Programming, Department of Animal Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, 82070, USA

    Stephen P. Ford PhD & John F. Odhiambo PhD

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  1. Stephen P. Ford PhD
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  2. John F. Odhiambo PhD
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Correspondence to Stephen P. Ford PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, King's College, London, United Kingdom

    Rajkumar Rajendram

  2. Department of Nutrition, King's College, London, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Westminster, London, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

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Ford, S.P., Odhiambo, J.F. (2017). Maternal Obesity and Implications for Fetal Programming. In: Rajendram, R., Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Diet, Nutrition, and Fetal Programming. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60289-9_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60289-9_14

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