How obesity in pregnancy affects the unborn child

Early life programming of the insulin-signalling pathway by maternal obesity

During pregnancy, the growth and development of the baby is affected by the mother’s diet. Women whose diet is low in energy, protein or nutrients such as iron have babies who are more likely to have heart disease when they are adults. In modern Britain maternal overweight and obesity is common. Children born to overweight women also seem to be at greater risk of diabetes and heart disease as they get older. In this project, the researchers will study the long term effects of maternal overweight in rats. This involves feeding rats a diet that consists of tasty human foods such as cake and biscuits so they become overweight. Their offspring can be studied to see how this changes their health and how the early diet influences the way in which key organs form in the womb and how they function in later life. A key signalling pathway, the insulin signalling pathway, which is involved with metabolism and diabetes, will be investigated. The project will allow an in-depth understanding of how being overweight in pregnancy can ‘programme’ the offspring to develop heart and metabolic problems later in life.