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Review
. 2022 Oct 21;14(20):4422.
doi: 10.3390/nu14204422.

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

Izabela Michońska  1 , Edyta Łuszczki  1 , Magdalena Zielińska  1 , Łukasz Oleksy  2 , Artur Stolarczyk  3 , Katarzyna Dereń  1
Affiliations
Review

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

Izabela Michońska et al. Nutrients. .

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.

Keywords: children; nutrition; nutritional programming; obesity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Three main hypotheses for nutrition programming.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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