Abstract
Linking maternal obesity to early insulin resistance.
Highlights
The current epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes are major concerns to our health and health care systems and project major public health problems in future generations
The authors show that insulin resistance in the offspring is not a consequence of obesity, which has been previously observed as a result of maternal adiposity [4], but presents either an independent trait or even a predisposition for the development of obesity later in life
Fernandez-Twinn and colleagues focused their study on the early consequences of maternal obesity on the offspring, it will be interesting to see if in this mouse model insulin levels normalize over time too. This is of great interest as a transient insulin resistance early in life could cause a predisposition to obesity or other components of the metabolic syndrome later on and most likely would not be recognized if not tested
Summary
The current epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes are major concerns to our health and health care systems and project major public health problems in future generations. While the principle associations between maternal obesity and increased risk of obesity and its metabolic consequences in the offspring are well established in rodents and humans, the underlying molecular mechanisms are under active investigation [2]. In this issue of Molecular Metabolism, Fernandez-Twinn and colleagues demonstrate that maternal obesity during pregnancy and lactation results in hyperinsulinemia, characteristic for insulin resistance, in the male offspring prior to the development of obesity [3].
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