The thrifty phenotype hypothesis proposes that the epidemiological associations between
poor fetal and infant growth and the subsequent development of type 2 diabetes and the …

The “fetal” or “early” origins of adult disease hypothesis was originally put forward by David
Barker and colleagues and stated that environmental factors, particularly nutrition, act in …

Many studies have provided evidence for the hypothesis that size at birth is related to the
risk of developing disease in later life. In particular, links are well established between …

The type 2 diabetes epidemic and one of its predisposing factors, obesity, are major
influences on global health and economic burden. It is accepted that genetics and the …

To elucidate the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors on the
development of Type II (non-insulin dependent) diabetes mellitus, we examined a sample of …

Depending on the definitions used, up to 10% of all live-born neonates are small for
gestational age (SGA). Although the vast majority of these children show catch-up growth by …

Fetal growth is determined by the interaction between the environment and the fetal
genome. The fetal environment, in turn, is determined by the maternal environment and by …

Background: Type 2 diabetes is associated with low birthweight followed by obesity in
adulthood. Persons who develop the disease may therefore have a particular pattern of …

There are many instances in life when the environment plays a critical role in the health
outcomes of an individual, yet none more so than those experienced in fetal and neonatal …

The primary markers of the metabolic syndrome are central obesity, insulin resistance and
hypertension. In this review, we consider the effect of changes in maternal nutrition during …