Obesity in Young Men after Famine Exposure in Utero and Early Infancy

Abstract

In a historical cohort study of 300,000 19-year-old men exposed to the Dutch famine of 1944-45 and examined at military induction, we tested the hypothesis that prenatal and early postnatal nutrition determines subsequent obesity. Outcomes were opposite depending on the time of exposure. During the last trimester of pregnancy and the first months of life, exposure produced significantly lower obesity rates (P less than 0.005). This result is consistent with the inference that nutritional deprivation affected a critical period of development for adipose-tissue cellularity. During the first half of pregnancy, however, exposure resulted in significantly higher obesity rates (P less than 0.0005). This observation is consistent with the inference that nutritional deprivation affected the differentiation of hypothalamic centers regulating food intake and growth, and that subsequent increased food availability produced an accumulation of excess fat in an organism growing to its predetermined maximum size.

Exposure to undernutrition in fetal life determines fat distribution, locomotor activity and food intake in ageing rats

“…Studies of young adult men and middle-aged women exposed to intrauterine famine during the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944 indicate that obesity may be in part determined through nutritional programming in early to mid-gestation. 31,32 Law et al 33 noted that waist-hip ratio, an indicator of how body fat is distributed, was negatively related to weight at birth suggesting that abdominal fatness is programmed before birth. The Nurses Health Study indicated a U-shaped relationship between birth weight and later body weight, with higher body mass index observed in women in the lowest and highest birth weight groupings.…”

Relevance of animal models to human eating disorders and obesity

“…Although intrauterine environmental influences on susceptibility to obesity were first described in humans (Charney et al 1976;Chen et al 2005;Ekelund et al 2005;Laitinen et al 2001;Levin 2000;Maffeis et al 1994;Parsons et al 2001;Ravelli et al 1999;Ravelli et al 1976;Roseboom et al 2001;Silliman and Kretchmer 1995;Simmons and Breier 2002;Whitaker 2004;Whitelaw 1976), animal models hold promise for providing important insights into the underlying mechanisms. High-fat diet consumption by mothers during pregnancy and lactation has long-term consequences on offspring weight, body fat content, and orexigenic and anorexigenic neuropeptide systems (Guo and Jen 1995;Levin and Govek 1998).…”

Expressing urine from a gel disposable diaper for biomonitoring using phthalates as an example

“…In terms of obesity, individuals who were exposed to the famine during the first half of pregnancy were more obese at age 19. In contrast, those who were exposed to the famine during the last trimester of pregnancy and in early postnatal life had reduced obesity (Ravelli et al, 1976). This suggests that the critical time windows for increased risks of obesity and type 2 diabetes differ.…”

“…The Dutch Hunger Winter was a short defined period of famine; therefore, it has been possible both to assess the role of early nutrition in future susceptibility to disease and to identify critical time windows (G.P. Ravelli et al, 1976;A.C. Ravelli et al, 1998).…”