Eating Too Much During Development Permanently Alters the Brain

Individuals with mothers who were overweight during pregnancy and nursing may face a higher risk of adult obesity, as early overnutrition can reprogram their developing brains to desire unhealthy foods, according to study. Mark Rossi, professor of psychiatry, said: People born to overweight or obese mothers tend to be heavier in adulthood than people born to leaner mothers.

In this experiment, three mice were given high-fat food and three other sister mice were given healthy food. When breastfeeding was complete, 50 infants were examined, weighing either heavier or lighter than predicted by their mother's diet.

Their weights converged (at healthy levels) after all the pups received several weeks of unlimited healthy chow, but they diverged again when the researchers offered them constant access to the high-fat diet. All the mice overate, but the offspring of overweight mothers overate significantly more than the others.

urther analysis indicated that the differing behaviors probably stemmed from differing connections between two parts of the brain — the hypothalamus and the amygdala — that arose because of differing maternal nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Reference