Abstract
There is increasing evidence that environmental factors in early life predict later health. The early adiposity rebound recorded in most obese subjects suggests that factors promoting body fat development have operated in the first years of life. Birth weight, growth velocity and body mass index (BMI) trajectories seem to be highly sensitive to the environmental conditions present during pregnancy and in early life (“The first 1000 days”). Particularly, nutritional exposure can have a long-term effect on health in adulthood. The high protein-low fat diet often recorded in young children may have contributed to the rapid rise of childhood obesity prevalence during the last decades. Metabolic programming by early nutrition could explain the development of later obesity and adult diseases.
Highlights
There is clear evidence that nutritional and metabolic exposure during critical periods of early human development (“the first 1000 days”) can have a long-term effect on health in adulthood.Early environmental factors can permanently change the structure and function of the body, a phenomenon known as “programming” [1]
Various studies have examined the influence of early nutrition on later obesity risk but there is still no consensus about the role of the different nutrients
Between 1967 and 1993, the period corresponding to the start of the steep increase of childhood obesity, energy intakes in 1.5–2.5 year old English children fell from 1264 to 1045 kcal/day
Summary
There is clear evidence that nutritional and metabolic exposure during critical periods of early human development (“the first 1000 days”) can have a long-term effect on health in adulthood. Environmental factors can permanently change the structure and function of the body, a phenomenon known as “programming” [1]. Various studies have examined the influence of early nutrition on later obesity risk but there is still no consensus about the role of the different nutrients. Several factors may account for this benefit, but the nutrient composition of human milk, which is characterized by a high content of fat and low content of protein, could play a role. Studies examining associations between nutritional intakes and growth processes provide useful information on the early determinants of childhood obesity
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