Early Life Programming of Obesity: The Impact of the Perinatal Environment on the Development of Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction in the Offspring

It is now well accepted that early life events can contribute substantially to the likelihood of an individual becoming obese, although many of the mechanisms for this are not well understood. Maternal over- and under-nutrition as well as the postnatal nutritional environment can contribute significantly to obesity throughout life. This review will provide an overview of early life events associated with neuroendocrine programming of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. In particular this review will focus on the long-term impact of perinatal nutrition, as well as the perinatal role of leptin, insulin, and glucocorticoids in programming the hypothalamic circuitry responsible for appropriate regulation of feeding and metabolism throughout life.