[quote=Navydoc]There is an enormous ammount of research going on related to this concept you describe about how one child can eat the same as another and gain weight while the other loses. The concept is called fetal programming, and is based on something called the Barker Hypothesis. The theory goes that if a fetus is deprived of nutrition in any way, be it by caloric restriction/weight loss of the mother, or through an abnormal placenta, the fetus develops a “thrifty phenotype” in which it has a slower metabolism and is thought to have a survival advantage in low-calorie environments. Said thrifty person would survive a crisis much better than a “fast metabolizer”. In regions of the world where calorie restriction is the norm the thrifty phenotype individual looks normal, but in our high sugar/high fat environment this type of metabolism can be a disaster.
The Barker Hypothesis dates back to the 70’s, but it germinated from studies of the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-45, when a German blockade of supplies into Holland in response to Operation Market Garden resulted in the population surviving on 400 calories a day. Those fetuses were born growth restricted, but once food became available again it was noted that those children were more susceptible to obesity and diabetes. In the US today it is theorized that poor prenatal care (I’m not insinuating anything about your pregnancies-please don’t be offended) relates to poor fetal nutrition and growth, which is reversed once the babies are born. Very often a pregnancy in an otherwise healthy woman has an abnormal placenta, either through a separation, or leading to preeclampsia, in which case the placenta is unable to meet the nutritional needs of the fetus, leading to the same problem.
I did my fellowship at Harbor UCLA, which is a major center for fetal programming research, and is why I know so much about this.[/quote]
Thank you very much for your input, Navydoc. It’s good to know they are trying to look past the overly simplistic “diet and exercise” meme in an attempt to understand why some people are more prone to becoming overweight.
Interesting theory regarding fetal programming. We did have problems with the placenta during the pregnancy with the “overweight” child. Still, the “endomorphic” body type is inherited in our family. You can line up four generations, and see at least one in each generation — they are textbook endomorphs.
