Maternal Weight Management to Prevent the Developmental Programming of MAFLD in Offspring of Obese Mothers

Abstract

The global surge of obesity amongst women of reproductive age has raised concerns surrounding the health consequences for their offspring as there is a formidable link between an obesogenic maternal environment and the developmental programming of metabolic dysfunction in the offspring. Specifically, the offspring of mothers with obesity have a three-fold higher risk of developing metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) compared to the offspring of healthy-weight mothers. Given the burgeoning burden of obesity and its comorbidities, it is essential to focus research efforts on methods to alleviate the intergenerational onset of obesity and MAFLD. This review summarizes the current research surrounding the developmental programming of MAFLD in the offspring of mothers with obesity and examines the potential for weight interventions to prevent such metabolic dysfunction in the offspring. It focuses on the benefits of pre-pregnancy interventional strategies, including dietary and exercise intervention, to ameliorate adverse liver health outcomes in the offspring. The utility and translation of these interventions for humans may be difficult for prospective mothers with obesity, thus the use of pre-pregnancy therapeutic weight loss aids, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, is also discussed.