Fetal exposure to maternal undernutrition has lifelong consequences for physiological and
metabolic function. Maternal low-protein diet is associated with an age-related phenotype
in rats, characterised by a period of resistance to development of obesity in early
adulthood, giving way to an obesity-prone, insulin-resistant state in later adulthood.
Offspring of rats fed a control (18 % casein) or low-protein (9 % casein; LP) diet in
pregnancy were challenged with a high-fat diet at 9 months of age. To assess whether other
maternal factors modulated the programming effects of nutrition, offspring were studied
from young (2–4 months old) and older (6–9 months old) mothers. Weight gain with a
high-fat diet was attenuated in male offspring of older mothers fed LP (interaction of
maternal age and diet; P = 0·011) and adipose tissue deposition was lower
with LP feeding in both males and females (P < 0·05). Although the
resistance to weight gain and adiposity was partially explained by lower energy intake in
offspring of LP mothers (P < 0·001 males only), it was apparent
that energy expenditure must be influenced by maternal diet and age. Assessment of
locomotor activity indicated that energy expenditure associated with physical activity was
unlikely to explain resistance to weight gain, but showed that offspring of older mothers
were more anxious than those of younger mothers, with more rearing observed in a novel
environment and on the elevated plus-maze. The data showed that in addition to maternal
undernutrition, greater maternal age may influence development and long-term body
composition in the rat.
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