Exercise during pregnancy mitigates the adverse effects of maternal obesity on adult male offspring vascular function and alters one‐carbon metabolism

Maternal obesity during pregnancy can adversely affect adult offspring vascular endothelial function. This study examined whether maternal exercise during pregnancy and lactation mitigates the adverse effects of maternal obesity on offspring vascular endothelial function. Female (C57BL/6N) mice were fed from weaning a control diet (10% kcal fat) or western diet (45% kcal fat) to induce excess adiposity (maternal obesity). After 13 weeks, the female mice were bred and maintained on the diets, with and without access to a running wheel (exercise), throughout breeding, pregnancy, and lactation. Offspring were weaned onto the control or western diet and fed for 13 weeks; male offspring were studied. Maternal exercise prevented the adverse effects of maternal obesity on offspring vascular endothelial function. However, this was dependent on offspring diet and the positive effect of maternal exercise was only observed in offspring fed the western diet. This was accompanied by alterations in aorta and liver one‐carbon metabolism, suggesting a role for these pathways in the improved endothelial function observed in the offspring. Obesity and exercise had no effect on endothelial function in the dams but did affect aorta and liver one‐carbon metabolism, suggesting the phenotype observed in the offspring may be due to obesity and exercise‐induced changes in one‐carbon metabolism in the dams. Our findings demonstrate that maternal exercise prevented vascular dysfunction in male offspring from obese dams and is associated with alterations in one‐carbon metabolism.