Female offspring born to obese and insulin-resistant dams are not at increased risk for obesity and metabolic dysfunction during early development

The percentage of women who are obese at the time of conception/pregnancy is increasing, with animal and human studies demonstrating that offspring born to obese dams/mothers are at increased risk for obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Our goal was to confirm in an experimental model of metabolic syndrome in the dam, whether the offspring would be at increased risk of obesity. Conversely, we observed that male offspring born to dams with metabolic syndrome had no alterations in their body weight profiles, whereas female offspring born to dams with metabolic syndrome were heavier at weaning, but exhibited no perturbations in energy metabolism. Moreover, they gained weight at a reduced rate versus female offspring born to healthy dams, and thus weighed less at study completion. Hence, our findings suggest that factors other than increased adiposity/insulin resistance during pregnancy are responsible for the increased risk of obesity in children born to obese mothers.