Back to Search Start Over

Nutritional Programming: History, Hypotheses, and the Role of Prenatal Factors in the Prevention of Metabolic Diseases—A Narrative Review

Authors :
Izabela Michońska
Edyta Łuszczki
Magdalena Zielińska
Łukasz Oleksy
Artur Stolarczyk
Katarzyna Dereń
Source :
Nutrients, Vol 14, Iss 20, p 4422 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2022.

Abstract

Childhood obesity and the numerous lifestyle diseases associated with it are undoubtedly among the key problems in modern medicine and public health. However, this problem concerns not only the present or immediate future, but also the longer term. Adult health is fundamentally shaped in the first years of life and in the fetal period. The preconceptual period, which is responsible for the proper preparation of the internal environment for the life and development of the fetus during pregnancy, is also significant. A special role in describing the phenomenon of conditioning the metabolism of the new human being is now attributed to the theory of nutritional programming. Research in this area was pioneered by David Barker, who put forward the theory of the “stunted phenotype” and described the relationship between a child’s birth weight, which is largely a consequence of the mother’s feeding behaviour, and diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes (T2D), dyslipidemia, or high blood pressure. This narrative review aims to provide an overview of the history, theory, and prenatal mechanisms involved in nutritional programming and its relationship to childhood obesity and other metabolic diseases.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20726643
Volume :
14
Issue :
20
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Nutrients
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.45c347576edb4fe59439cd616b0ec1fd
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14204422