The experiments were performed on laboratory rats, and found that offspring born to obese mothers could show a predisposition to such diseases even if the children were of normal weight.
A Feb. 10 LiveScience article provided the following information about the Duke research:
[Study co-author Staci D.] Bilbo and colleagues placed rats on one of three diets (low-fat, high-saturated fat, and high-trans fat) four weeks prior to mating and throughout pregnancy and lactation. The high-fat diets rendered the mice clinically obese.The Duke study was published in the journal of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).
The newborn pups' brains were analyzed. Offspring born to mothers on the high-fat diets showed increased immune cell activation and release of injurious substances known as cytokines, all right after birth. The changes stuck even until the newborns became adults, and even after they were put on low-fat diets.
"This hyper-response to inflammation remained dramatically increased compared to rats born to normal-weight mothers," the researchers write.
Labels: causes of childhood obesity, mothers, pregnancy
Posted By: Aspen/CRC
