Almost 2 billion adults in the world are overweight, and more than half of them are classified
as obese, while nearly one-third of children globally experience poor growth and …

Appropriate in utero growth is essential for offspring development and is a critical contributor
to long-term health. Fetal growth is largely dictated by the availability of nutrients in maternal …

The placenta is essential for the efficient delivery of nutrients and oxygen from mother to
fetus to maintain normal fetal growth. Dysfunctional placental development underpins many …

Placental responses to maternal perturbations are complex and remain poorly understood.
Altered maternal environment during pregnancy such as hypoxia, stress, obesity, diabetes …

Appropriate fetal growth relies upon adequate placental nutrient transfer. Birthweight:
placental weight ratio (BW: PW ratio) is often used as a proxy for placental efficiency, defined …

Adverse influences during fetal life alter the structure and function of distinct cells, organ
systems or homoeostatic pathways, thereby 'programming'the individual for an increased …

Fetal programming occurs when the normal pattern of fetal development is disrupted by an
abnormal stimulus or 'insult'applied at a critical point in in utero development. This then …

The recent and rapid worldwide increase in non-communicable diseases challenges the
assumption that genetic factors are the primary contributors to such diseases. A new concept …

Context: Babies of obese women are often large at birth, which is associated with perinatal
complications and metabolic syndrome later in life. The mechanisms linking maternal …

15 intolerance25 and obesity in adult life. 26, 27 Thus there is a small but growing set of
data providing direct evidence in human populations that maternal nutrition in pregnancy …