Evidence for the intergenerational transmission of obesity and its comorbidities

Abstract

Currently, the world is experiencing an epidemiological transition; where infectious diseases are not among the main causes of death; while the prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases is increasing. The global rise in the incidence of overweight and obese individuals is one of the main drivers of this change; both are risk factors to develop metabolic anomalies, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and some types of cancer. Therefore, the study of all the factors involved in the development of obesity is a priority. The aim of this short review is to point out that obesity, as well as its comorbidities, can be primed during gestation and can be passed through more than one subsequent generation. At first glance, the notion that chronic and degenerative diseases, which usually manifest at adult age (e.g., obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, CVDs), could have a developmental origin seems implausible. Nevertheless, there is both epidemiological and experimental evidence that support the idea that, the nutritional and metabolic state of the parents prior to conception, and of the mother during pregnancy, can influence the adult life of their offspring.