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From Fatalism To Mitigation: A Conceptual Framework For Mitigating Fetal Programming Of Chronic Disease By Maternal Obesity, Janne Boone-Heinonen, Lynne C. Messer, Stephen P. Fortmann, Lawrence Wallack, Kent L. Thornburg

Community Health Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prenatal development is recognized as a critical period in the etiology of obesity and cardiometabolic disease. Potential strategies to reduce maternal obesity-induced risk later in life have been largely overlooked. In this paper, we first propose a conceptual framework for the role of public health and preventive medicine in mitigating the effects of fetal programming. Second, we review a small but growing body of research (through August 2015) that examines interactive effects of maternal obesity and two public health foci – diet and physical activity – in the offspring. Results of the review support the hypothesis that diet and physical …