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0:00
I'm Dr. Jess Buxton.
I'm a researcher based at
University College in London.
My work involves investigating how
genetic and environmental factors
interact to affect disease risk.
In this lecture, I'm going
to be talking about the role
of fetal programming in obesity.
0:17
So during this lecture, I'm going to
describe what fetal programming is,
and how it fits into the thrifty
phenotype hypothesis in the wider
research area of DOHaD.
I'm going to also consider animal
models of fetal programming,
and some possible
epigenetic mechanisms
that explain this phenomenon.
And finally, I'm going
to look at the evidence
for transgenerational
effects of fetal programming.
0:42
So what causes obesity?
We know that the causes
are a complex mix
of genetic and
environmental factors,
and an interaction
between the two, often,
including diet and low
levels of physical activity.
We also know that some
genetic variations are involved
and affect a person's risk
of developing obesity.
This talk is going to focus on
the role of prenatal factors.
So factors before birth that might
affect our future risk of obesity
in childhood and adulthood.
1:12
So fetal programming can be
thought of as a particular set
of environmental factors
that affect disease risk.
After all, our very first
environment is the womb.
But in particular, fetal
programming is the concept
that conditions in the womb
during embryonic and fetal life
can affect the development
of tissues and organs,
and that these changes can result
in long-term consequences for health
in childhood and adulthood.
1:36
What kinds of factors might
affect the newborn baby cells?
So, there are the obvious
ones that we've
known about for quite some time.
Toxins such as
cigarette smoke, tobacco.
Some infections, such as
rubella, German measles,
can have long lasting effects on
the development and health of the baby.
Diet, maternal activity
levels, and stress levels.
So we know that all these
things can affect the health
and development the newborn baby.
But what's become increasingly
clear, since the early 1990s,
is that some of these
factors can have
long-lasting effects on
the health of the child
and throughout its
life into adulthood.
