Early Nutrition and its Later Cons

Early Nutrition and its Later Cons: New Opportunities: Perinatal Programming of Adult Health - EC Supported Research (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology) by Berthold Koletzko

Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (March 14, 2006) | 1402035349 | 256Pages | PDF | 2.15MB

The possibility that nutrition in early life could influence propensity to adult disease is of great concern to public health. Extensive research carried out in pregnant women, in breastfeeding women and in infants strongly suggests that nutrition in early life has major effects on long-term health and well-being. Health problems such as hypertension, tendency to diabetes, obesity, blood lipids, vascular disease, bone health, behaviour and learning and longevity may be ‘imprinted’ during early life. This process is defined as ‘programming’ whereby a nutritional stimulus operating at a critical, sensitive period of pre and postnatal life imprints permanent effects on the structure, physiology and metabolism.