Obesity in Young Men after Famine Exposure in Utero and Early Infancy

TLDR

The study tested whether prenatal and early postnatal nutrition determines later obesity in 19‑year‑old men. Using a historical cohort of 300,000 men exposed to the Dutch famine and examined at military induction, the authors assessed the impact of famine timing on obesity. Obesity outcomes varied with exposure timing: famine during the last trimester and early infancy lowered obesity rates, while famine during the first half of pregnancy increased obesity rates.

Abstract

In a historical cohort study of 300,000 19-year-old men exposed to the Dutch famine of 1944-45 and examined at military induction, we tested the hypothesis that prenatal and early postnatal nutrition determines subsequent obesity. Outcomes were opposite depending on the time of exposure. During the last trimester of pregnancy and the first months of life, exposure produced significantly lower obesity rates (P less than 0.005). This result is consistent with the inference that nutritional deprivation affected a critical period of development for adipose-tissue cellularity. During the first half of pregnancy, however, exposure resulted in significantly higher obesity rates (P less than 0.0005). This observation is consistent with the inference that nutritional deprivation affected the differentiation of hypothalamic centers regulating food intake and growth, and that subsequent increased food availability produced an accumulation of excess fat in an organism growing to its predetermined maximum size.