Umano Giuseppina Rosaria, Bellone Simonetta, Buganza Raffaele, Calcaterra Valeria, Corica Domenico, De Sanctis Luisa, Di Sessa Anna, Faienza Maria Felicia, Improda Nicola, Licenziati Maria Rosaria, Manco Melania, Ungaro Carla, Urbano Flavia, Valerio Giuliana, Wasniewska Malgorzata, Street Maria Elisabeth
Department of the Woman, the Child, of General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 80138 Naples, Italy.
Unit of Pediatrics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jul 30;26(15):7388. doi: 10.3390/ijms26157388.
Childhood obesity is a growing global health concern, with established links to physical activity, nutrition, and, increasingly, to prenatal and perinatal factors. Emerging evidence highlights the significant role of maternal conditions such as obesity, comorbidities, nutrition, and environmental exposures in predisposing offspring to long-term metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The "Developmental Origins of Health and Disease" (DOHaD) paradigm provides a framework for understanding how early life environmental exposures, particularly during the periconceptional, fetal, and neonatal periods, can program future health outcomes through epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic modifications alter gene expression without changing the DNA sequence and are increasingly recognized as key mediators in the development of obesity. This narrative review summarizes current findings on the early determinants of childhood obesity, emphasizing the molecular and epigenetic pathways involved. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases and international sources, focusing on recent studies from the past decade. Both human and animal research were included to provide a broad perspective. This review aims to consolidate recent insights into early life influences on obesity, underscoring the need for preventive strategies starting as early as the preconception period.
儿童肥胖是一个日益严重的全球健康问题，它与身体活动、营养以及越来越多的产前和围产期因素之间存在既定联系。新出现的证据凸显了诸如肥胖、合并症、营养和环境暴露等母体状况在使后代易患长期代谢和心血管疾病方面的重要作用。“健康与疾病的发育起源”（DOHaD）范式提供了一个框架，用于理解早期生活环境暴露，尤其是在受孕前后、胎儿期和新生儿期的暴露，如何通过表观遗传机制影响未来的健康结果。表观遗传修饰在不改变DNA序列的情况下改变基因表达，并且越来越被认为是肥胖发生发展的关键调节因子。这篇叙述性综述总结了关于儿童肥胖早期决定因素的当前研究结果，强调了其中涉及的分子和表观遗传途径。我们在多个数据库和国际资源中进行了全面的文献检索，重点关注过去十年的近期研究。纳入了人类和动物研究以提供广泛的视角。本综述旨在整合近期关于早期生活对肥胖影响的见解，强调早在受孕前阶段就需要采取预防策略。
