Exercise during pregnancy has beneficial effects on maternal and offspring's health in humans and mice. The underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This comparative study aimed to determine the long-term effects of an exercise program on metabolism, weight gain, body composition and changes in hormones [insulin, leptin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)]. Pregnant women (n=34) and mouse dams (n=44) were subjected to an exercise program compared with matched controls (period I). Follow-up in the offspring was performed over 6 months in humans, corresponding to postnatal day (P) 21 in mice (period II). Half of the mouse offspring was challenged with a high-fat diet (HFD) for 6 weeks between P70 and P112 (period III). In period I, exercise during pregnancy led to 6% lower fat content, 40% lower leptin levels and an increase of 50% BDNF levels in humans compared with controls, which was not observed in mice. After period II in humans and mice, offspring body weight did not differ from that of the controls. Further differences were observed in period III. Offspring of exercising mouse dams had significantly lower fat mass and leptin levels compared with controls. In addition, at P112, BDNF levels in offspring were significantly higher from exercising mothers while this effect was completely blunted by HFD feeding. In this study, we found comparable effects on maternal and offspring's weight gain in humans and mice but different effects in insulin, leptin and BDNF. The long-term potential protective effects of exercise on biomarkers should be examined in human studies.

Pregnant women should be given tailored advice/motivation according to prepregnancy body mass index. However, larger studies are necessary to evaluate these factors on pregnant women's physical activity level.

BackgroundBenefits of exercise to prevent non-communicable diseases are well-documented. Limited data exists to promote physical activity in healthy but sedentary and/or overweight people. Brief interventions within routine German health checks may be an effective way to reach these patients.Methods/designThe quasi-experimental, multi-center prospective feasibility study is designed for general practices in Cologne (intervention group) and Düsseldorf (control group), up to 20 per region. Eight to 10 inactive and/or overweight patients per practice will be recruited for a total of 300. General practitioners and at least one of their nurses for the intervention group will be trained in motivational interviewing and familiarized with low-threshold recommendations for exercise (activities of daily life (ADL), target of 10,000 steps/day) and additional tools (pedometers, activity diaries). Participants in the control group will only receive general advice (150 min of exercise/week). The primary aims are to evaluate the feasibility of this intervention and to determine whether it is possible to reach a mean increase of 1000 steps/day in the target group within 6 months. Secondary objectives focus on the number of patients who reach a target of 10,000 steps/day and their improvements in quality of life and decrease in body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure.DiscussionThe study will assess whether it is feasible to run brief interventions within the GP setting can promote an active lifestyle in overweight and/or inactive patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40814-016-0092-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The number of overweight and obese children increases continually during preschool age. In the modern way of living, children with genetic predisposition hardly have a chance to keep their overweight in control through sports and healthy eating habits. Hence children of socioeconomically underprivileged families need more support and guidance to achieve a healthy life. The consequence of these alarming results prompted Karlsruhe in 2002 to carry out a project with intervention-programmes for kindergartens within the areas of physical exercise and eating habits.