Metabolic phenotype in childhood following adipogenic exposure in a critical early time window (FA2 module 1)

Maternal preconception obesity leads to metabolic disturbances that have implications in pregnancy and for later offspring health. However, underlying mechanisms and metabolic pathways are poorly understood. Own previous work identified potential risk marker candidates for childhood overweight relating to metabolic alterations in late pregnancy of obese mothers, including maternal HbA1c at delivery and cord-blood metabolites of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) catabolism and methionine pathways (first funding period of enable).

We aim to identify newborns of obese mothers at birth who are at high risk to develop overweight and/or metabolic dysregulation at school age.

The prospective PEACHES cohort provides a unique resource of data and biosamples and allows longitudinal investigation of children of mothers with preconception obesity for anthropometric indices, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipid metabolism, food quality and other potential confounding variables. A variety of biosamples will be obtained for partner projects of Focus Area 2 “Early-life indicators of obesity risk”.

Our objectives

  • Investigation of metabolic phenotypes of 7- to 8-year-old children from mothers of the PEACHES cohort (Programming of Enhanced Adiposity Risk in CHildhood – Early Screening)
  • Analysis of the effect of high maternal HbA1c at birth and / or altered metabolites in the cord blood of children on later overweight and / or abnormal parameters of the metabolic syndrome