Li M, Sloboda D M, Vickers M H
Liggins Institute and the National Research Centre for Growth and Development, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
Exp Diabetes Res. 2011;2011:592408. doi: 10.1155/2011/592408. Epub 2011 Sep 28.
The incidence of obesity and overweight has reached epidemic proportions in the developed world as well as in those countries transitioning to first world economies, and this represents a major global health problem. Concern is rising over the rapid increases in childhood obesity and metabolic disease that will translate into later adult obesity. Although an obesogenic nutritional environment and increasingly sedentary lifestyle contribute to our risk of developing obesity, a growing body of evidence links early life nutritional adversity to the development of long-term metabolic disorders. In particular, the increasing prevalence of maternal obesity and excess maternal weight gain has been associated with a heightened risk of obesity development in offspring in addition to an increased risk of pregnancy-related complications. The mechanisms that link maternal obesity to obesity in offspring and the level of gene-environment interactions are not well understood, but the early life environment may represent a critical window for which intervention strategies could be developed to curb the current obesity epidemic. This paper will discuss the various animal models of maternal overnutrition and their importance in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying altered obesity risk in offspring.
肥胖和超重的发生率在发达国家以及那些正转型为第一世界经济体的国家已达到流行程度，这是一个重大的全球健康问题。人们越来越担心儿童肥胖和代谢疾病的迅速增加，这些疾病会导致日后成人肥胖。尽管致肥胖的营养环境和日益久坐不动的生活方式增加了我们患肥胖症的风险，但越来越多的证据表明，早期生活中的营养逆境与长期代谢紊乱的发展有关。特别是，孕妇肥胖和孕期体重过度增加的发生率不断上升，这不仅增加了与妊娠相关并发症的风险，还与后代肥胖风险增加有关。母体肥胖与后代肥胖之间的联系机制以及基因-环境相互作用的程度尚未完全了解，但早期生活环境可能是一个关键窗口，可以据此制定干预策略来遏制当前的肥胖流行。本文将讨论母体营养过剩的各种动物模型及其在我们理解后代肥胖风险改变背后机制方面的重要性。
