The “early life” origins of obesity‐related health disorders: New discoveries regarding the intergenerational transmission of developmentally programmed traits in the global cardiometabolic health crisis

Abstract

Popular media reports concerning the causes of the current global obesity pandemic and its related sequelae-the cardiometabolic syndrome-are often couched in terms of dramatic changes in diet and lifestyle around the world; namely, drastically increasing dietary intakes of high energy foods and plummeting levels of daily physical activity-the hallmarks of the so called "nutrition transition." Far less attention is generally drawn to the important role phenotypic plasticity during early life (i.e., "developmental programming") plays in the cardiometabolic health crisis. Recently, however, researchers working within the field of the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) and epigenetics have extended our understanding of the role played by these developmental processes and capacities in health and disease even further by investigating the transmissible nature of developmentally programmed cardiometabolic traits to subsequent generations. In this review, after briefly revisiting the fundamental discoveries of firstgeneration DOHaD research, I consider how recent discoveries regarding the transmissibility of developmentally acquired traits are providing new insights into the current global cardiometabolic pandemic, and how a better understanding of developmental programming-including transmissibility-are essential for the conceptualization and implementation of public health initiatives aimed at stemming this global health crisis. Am J Phys Anthropol 57:79-93,

Developmental origins of health and disease

“…Intrauterine under-nutrition can also induce epigenetic changes in the F1 germ line which are linked to alterations in the F2 generation and increased risk of metabolic syndrome 43-45 . Several groups found effects on the F2 generation when the pregnant dam (F0) was exposed to low protein diets, calorie restriction, high fat diets, or when gestational diabetes was induced; effects were observed on glucose tolerance, blood pressure/vascular dysfunction, body weight, insulin resistance, immune dysfunction, reproduction and neurological dysfunctions 25, 26, 46 .…”

A Life Course Perspective on Body Size and Cardio-metabolic Health

“…Recent research in human and animal models suggests that biological adaptations to environmental exposures during critical or sensitive periods of development may be transmitted to subsequent generations (Benyshek 2013), such that a trait like insulin resistance in the exposed generation might be passed to successive unexposed generations in diminishing order of magnitude (Benyshek et al 2006). This transgenerational transmission goes beyond something that might be explained by genetic heritability or by family members of different generations experiencing similar lifelong environments.…”

Developmental Programming and Transgenerational Transmission of Obesity

“…The developmental programming hypothesis has opened up a new research paradigm for understanding chronic disease risk that moved beyond the simplistic explanations based on genetic and lifestyle influences. A more integrated approach has developed examining the interaction between genetic inheritance and lifestyle factors (including diet) but also incorporating the role of developmental plasticity - the ability of changes in gene function to generate a range of phenotypic outcomes based on environmental exposures [1]. …”