Children's body fatness linked to decisions made in the womb
August 22, 2012 in Medical research
New born human infants have the largest brains among primates, but also the highest proportion of body fat. Before birth, if the supply of nutrients from the mother through the placenta is limited or unbalanced, the developing baby faces a dilemma: should resources be allocated to brain growth, or to fat deposition for use as an energy reserve during the early months after birth?
Scientists at the University of Southampton have shown that this decision could have an effect on how fat we are as children.
In new research, published in the journal PLoS ONE today, scientists at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit at the University, performed ultrasound scans on 381 pregnant women taking part in the Southampton Women's Survey. They measured the blood flow from the placenta to the unborn baby, and the distribution of this blood to either the liver of the baby or bypassing the liver to supply the brain and heart. This was then compared with the infant's body fatness at birth and at four years old.
The findings show that greater blood flow to the baby's liver in late pregnancy was associated with greater body fatness in the infant at birth and at age four. In contrast, lower liver blood flow and a "brain-sparing" blood flow pattern (when the blood bypasses the liver and goes to the brain) occurred when the placenta was smaller and less able to meet baby's demand for essential nutrients in the womb.
These findings were independent of an association between mother's body fatness and the body fatness of her infant.
Keith Godfrey, Professor of Epidemiology and Human Development, at the University who led the study, explains: "In our evolutionary past, the demands of a big brain have led the unborn baby to develop blood flow responses which preserve nutrient delivery to the brain when the supply of essential nutrients from the mother cannot meet the baby's requirements.
"However, having a big brain has also led to evolution of a strategy to adjust blood flow through the baby's liver, which enables the liver to produce more fat – this acts as an energy reserve, protecting brain development during periods of illness or under-nutrition in early infancy. Our data suggests that evolution of this strategy has brought with it a predisposition to obesity and later diabetes in contemporary societies with abundant nutrition in later postnatal life."
Professors Guttorm Haugen from the University of Oslo and Torvid Kiserud from the University of Bergen were part of the research team. They comment: "An interpretation of our findings is that there could be programmed effects on the liver that arise from blood flow adaptations in the womb and predispose individuals to gain excess body fat. Although further studies are needed, our findings add weight to current concerns that the current epidemic of childhood obesity and associated disorders may partly have its origins through adaptations made by the developing baby during pregnancy."
Professor Mark Hanson, Director of the University of Southampton's Human Development and Health Academic Unit, adds: "If the supply of nutrients across the placenta is inadequate or unbalanced, the unborn baby has to decide whether to prioritise fat deposition or spare brain growth – it does this by changing the amount of blood flowing to the liver and brain. A decision to increase blood flow to the liver has lasting implications for the child's body fatness.
"Transfer processes across the placenta for some nutrients such as glucose evolved in environments less affluent than those now prevalent in developed populations, and our findings additionally suggest that in circumstances of maternal obesity and nutrient excess these processes now also lead to excessive fat deposition in the womb."
"This strengthens the case for all women of reproductive age having greater access to nutritional, education and lifestyle support to reduce the risk of obesity in their children and improve the health of the next generation."
Professor Cyrus Cooper, Director of the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit comments: "This study is part of a wider body of work by the MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit into how factors during pregnancy might have a long-term influence on childhood growth and development. This is a wonderful example of multi-disciplinary research using the unique clinical resource provided by the Southampton Women's Survey."
Journal reference:
PLoS ONE
Provided by
University of Southampton
-
Children's body fat linked to Vitamin D insufficiency in mothers
May 23, 2012 |
not rated yet |
0
-
New link between mother's pregnancy diet and offspring's chances of obesity found
Apr 18, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Brain function linked to birth size in groundbreaking new study
Feb 18, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Battle between the placenta and uterus could help explain preeclampsia
Oct 11, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Mother's BMI linked to fatter babies
Aug 19, 2011 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Motion perception revisited: High Phi effect challenges established motion perception assumptions
Apr 23, 2013 |
3 / 5 (2) |
2
-
Anything you can do I can do better: Neuromolecular foundations of the superiority illusion (Update)
Apr 02, 2013 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
5
-
The visual system as economist: Neural resource allocation in visual adaptation
Mar 30, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
9
-
Separate lives: Neuronal and organismal lifespans decoupled
Mar 27, 2013 |
4.9 / 5 (8) |
0
-
Sizing things up: The evolutionary neurobiology of scale invariance
Feb 28, 2013 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
14
-
Pressure-volume curve: Elastic Recoil Pressure don't make sense
17 hours ago
-
If you became brain-dead, would you want them to pull the plug?
May 17, 2013
-
MRI bill question
May 15, 2013
-
Ratio of Hydrogen of Oxygen in Dessicated Animal Protein
May 13, 2013
-
Alcohol and acetaminophen
May 13, 2013
-
Marie Curie's leukemia
May 13, 2013
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Now we know why old scizophrenia medicine works on antibiotics-resistant bacteria
In 2008 researchers from the University of Southern Denmark showed that the drug thioridazine, which has previously been used to treat schizophrenia, is also a powerful weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as ...
Medical research
May 17, 2013 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
0
|
SUMO wrestling cells reveal new protective mechanism target for stroke
Scientists investigating the interaction of a group of proteins in the brain responsible for protecting nerve cells from damage have identified a new target that could increase cell survival.
Medical research
May 17, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
How serotonin receptors can shape drug effects, from LSD to migraine medication
New findings by researchers carrying out experiments at the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science's Advanced Photon Source (APS) help explain why some drugs that interact with two kinds of human serotonin ...
Medical research
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Preventing blood poisoning
Peptide molecules derived from the body's natural immune system can help boost the body's defence against life-threatening blood poisoning, joint University research has uncovered.
Medical research
May 17, 2013 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
|
New mechanism to prevent type 2 diabetes in obese individuals
A new Montréal study conducted by Dr. May Faraj, associate research professor at the Université de Montréal and invited scientist at the IRCM, along with her research team and medical collaborators, shows ...
Medical research
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
|
New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health
An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).
US psychiatry gets makeover in new manual
The latest makeover to a massive psychiatric tome honored by some, reviled by others and even called the "Bible" of mental disorders is being released Saturday with a host of new changes.
New case of SARS-like virus in Saudi: ministry
A new case of the deadly coronavirus has been detected in Saudi Arabia where 15 people have already died after contracting it, the health ministry announced on Saturday on its Internet website.
AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon
Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.
For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests
Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...
New colonoscope provides ground-breaking view of colon
A ground-breaking advance in colonoscopy technology signals the future of colorectal care, according to research presented today at Digestive Disease Week(DDW). Additional research focuses on optimizing the minimal withdrawal ...