Objectives: Offspring of women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased risk for obesity and diabetes mellitus in later life. Fetal imprinting by intrauterine diabetic environment and early postnatal determinants affects the development of these chronic diseases in addition to socio-economic and genetic determinants. The purpose of this study was to identify the strongest predi...

Nowadays, obesity rates have an increasing tendency, since the incidence of obesity in both developed and developing countries is still rising over the years. Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity seems to have an influence on both obstetrical and neonatal outcomes. Many researchers have focused on pregnancies of obese nulliparous, non diabetic women as well as on the medical profile of their neonates...

Objective. To identify maternal and early childhood risk factors for obesity and overweight among children at age 5 in the state of Alabama. Methods. We recruited 740 mothers during early pregnancy from University of Alabama Prenatal Clinics in a prospective cohort study and followed them throughout pregnancy. We followed their children from birth until 5 years of age. The main outcome measure ...

The prevalence of obesity in adults and children has increased globally at an alarming rate. Mounting evidence from both epidemiological studies and animal models indicates that adult obesity and associated metabolic disorders can be programmed by intrauterine and early postnatal environment- a phenomenon known as "fetal programming of adult disease." Data from nutritional intervention studies ...

Epidemiological studies have shown an association between maternal overnutrition and increased risk of the progeny for the development of obesity as well as psychiatric disorders. Animal studies have shown results regarding maternal high-fat diet (HFD) and a greater risk of the offspring to develop obesity. However, it still remains unknown whether maternal HFD can program the central reward sy...

BACKGROUND We previously reported that a number of factors related to maternal lifestyle during early pregnancy, including smoking, are associated with childhood obesity at 5 years of age. In the present study, we investigated whether the association with maternal smoking persisted to the age of 9-10 years. METHODS The study population comprised children born between April 1, 1991 and March 3...