Developmental pathways linking obesity risk and early puberty: The thrifty phenotype and fetal overnutrition hypotheses

Abstract

We outline an operationalization and extension of the thrifty phenotype and fetal overnutrition hypotheses, two developmental hypotheses stemming from the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) perspective, for developmental pathways from preconception and prenatal risk through child growth to early puberty. The available evidence suggests that both the thrifty phenotype and fetal overnutrition pathways have direct and indirect effects on child growth and pubertal timing, with potential moderating effects of sex and race. Further investigating the hypothesized pathways will be helpful toward identifying youth who are at high risk of earlier pubertal timing, who may be on trajectories leading to poor health in adolescence and adulthood. Future studies should investigate the role of the pathways in predicting mental and physical health outcomes which may lead to a better understanding of health trajectories across the life course.