Maternal Obesity and the Fetal Origins of the Metabolic Syndrome

Over recent decades there has been a rapid rise in metabolic disorders throughout the world. Whilst lifestyle and societal habits have contributed to the obesity epidemic, there is now increasing evidence that the early developmental environment of an infant can play a pivotal role in the ‘programming’ of an adverse physiological phenotype in later life. Clinical evidence highlights that maternal over-nutrition and/or obesity during pregnancy presents not only adverse effects on maternal health, but also persistent and deleterious effects in the developing child. Animal models are providing essential information into the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that contribute to this adverse phenotype. The use of this information will aid our understanding of the programming signals related to maternal and paternal over-nutrition and the improved healthcare for both mother and infant.