Research
Mixed
Maternal obesity or high-fat diets during gestation program offspring skeletal muscle to exhibit blunted insulin signaling, increased inflammation (TNF-alpha), and reduced myogenesis, predisposing them to insulin resistance and obesity.
Maternal health during pregnancy significantly impacts the child's future metabolic risk. Maintaining a healthy weight and diet during pregnancy is crucial for preventing early programming of insulin resistance.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
skeletal muscles from foetuses from obese sheep have blunted insulin and AMPK signalling as well as an increased inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)... suggesting the development of insulin resistance in these offspring
Why this rating
Supported by animal models and human cohort data linking low birth weight/obesity to metabolic issues.
Source
Does skeletal muscle have an ‘epi’‐memory? The role of epigenetics in nutritional programming, metabolic disease, aging and exercise
Adam P. Sharples et al. · Aging Cell · 2016
DOI 10.1111/acel.12486
narrative_reviewCited 183×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Early-life maternal nutrient restriction (caloric or protein) programs skeletal muscle structure and metabolism, leading to reduced fiber number, altered fiber type composition, and increased susceptibility to metabolic disease and sarcopenia in later life.Good
- Epigenetic modifications (DNA methylation, histone modification) serve as the molecular mechanism for 'muscle memory,' allowing skeletal muscle to retain information from prior environmental stimuli (like exercise or stress) and respond differently upon re-encounter.Moderate
Related findings · Mixed
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