Cover -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Contents -- Foreword -- Terms of Reference -- British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition and Development: Short- and Long-Term Consequences for Health Task Force Membership -- 1: Introduction to Early Life and Later Disease -- 1.1 Environmental influences on development -- 1.1.1 Nutrition and the early environment -- 1.1.2 Variations in growth and development -- 1.2 Links between early life and adult disease -- 1.2.1 Animal studies -- 1.2.2 Evidence from human populations -- 1.2.3 The interaction of fetal and postnatal experience and adult disease -- 1.2.4 Vulnerability to stressors acting in adult life -- 1.3 Biological mechanisms -- 1.3.1 Fetal programming -- 1.3.2 Developmental plasticity -- 1.4 Nutrition of mothers and children -- 1.4.1 Observational studies of maternal diet -- 1.4.2 Supplementation studies -- 1.4.3 Maternal body composition -- 1.4.4 Postnatal nutrition -- 1.5 Nutrition of young women today -- 1.6 Key points -- 1.7 Key references -- 2: Normal Growth and Development -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Prenatal development -- 2.2.1 Embryonic period -- 2.2.2 The placenta -- 2.3 Embryo development -- 2.4 Fetal development -- 2.4.1 Normal fetal growth -- 2.4.2 Vulnerable periods: 'critical windows' -- 2.4.3 Mobilisation of maternal stores to protect the fetus -- 2.4.4 Placental glucose transport -- 2.5 Fetal development overview -- 2.5.1 The heart -- 2.5.2 Brain development -- 2.5.3 The lungs -- 2.5.4 Bone -- 2.5.5 Muscle -- 2.5.6 The liver -- 2.5.7 The pancreas -- 2.5.8 The kidneys -- 2.5.9 Haematopoietic tissue -- 2.5.10 Adipose tissue -- 2.5.11 Sex hormone development -- 2.5.12 Immune system development -- 2.6 Birthweight -- 2.7 Postnatal growth and development -- 2.8 Growth monitoring (growth charts) -- 2.9 Secular growth trends -- 2.9.1 Secular change in birthweight.

2.9.2 Secular change in height -- 2.10 Canalisation, catch-up and catch-down growth -- 2.11 Key points -- 2.12 Recommendations for future research -- 2.13 Key references -- 3: Maternal Nutrition and Infant Feeding: Current Practice and Recommendations -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Characteristics of pregnant women in the UK -- 3.2.1 Changing age profile of mothers -- 3.2.2 Birth spacing -- 3.2.3 Ethnic minority groups -- 3.3 Current practice and recommendations: pre-pregnancy -- 3.3.1 The importance of pre-pregnancy nutrient status and weight -- 3.3.2 Recommendations for pre-pregnancy -- 3.3.3 Current dietary practices among women prior to pregnancy -- 3.4 Current practice and recommendations: during pregnancy -- 3.4.1 Recommendations for pregnancy -- 3.4.2 Current practice during pregnancy -- 3.5 Current practice and recommendations: lactation -- 3.5.1 Recommendations for lactation -- 3.5.2 Current practice during lactation -- 3.6 Infant feeding: issues relating to evidence base -- 3.7 Current practice and recommendations: breastfeeding -- 3.7.1 Benefits of breastfeeding -- 3.7.2 Recommendations for breastfeeding: historical perspective and evidence base -- 3.7.3 Breastfeeding: current practice -- 3.8 Current practice and recommendations: formula feeding -- 3.8.1 Composition of infant formulas -- 3.8.2 Feeding infant formula -- 3.8.3 Formula feeding: current practice -- 3.9 Current practice and recommendations: weaning/complementary feeding -- 3.9.1 Recommendations: timing of introduction of complementary foods -- 3.9.2 Current practice of timing of introduction of complementary foods -- 3.9.3 Development of taste preferences and the importance of texture -- 3.9.4 Baby-led weaning -- 3.9.5 Recommendations: specific food types -- 3.9.6 Recommendations: important nutrients to include in the weaning diet.

3.9.7 Current practice: types of food/drink introduced -- 3.9.8 Vegetarian diets -- 3.9.9 Vegan diets -- 3.9.10 Foods to avoid during introduction of solids -- 3.9.11 Current practice: foods avoided during introduction of solids -- 3.10 Allergy -- 3.10.1 Development of allergies -- 3.10.2 Peanut allergy -- 3.10.3 Coeliac disease -- 3.10.4 Cows' milk protein allergy -- 3.11 Conclusions -- 3.12 Key points -- 3.13 Recommendations for future research -- 3.14 Key references -- 4: Mechanisms and Pathways of Critical Windows of Development -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Embryo stages -- 4.3 Development of placenta -- 4.4 Nutritional programming: the effect of nutrition on fetal development -- 4.4.1 Severe effects of micronutrient deprivation in pregnancy -- 4.4.2 The effect of famine on fetal development -- 4.4.3 Experimental models for the study of poor nutrition on fetal development -- 4.5 Potential mechanisms of nutritional programming -- 4.5.1 Disruption of organ development -- 4.5.2 Disruption of the endocrine environment -- 4.5.3 Epigenetics -- 4.5.4 Telomere length -- 4.5.5 The gatekeeper hypothesis -- 4.6 Conclusions -- 4.7 Key points -- 4.8 Recommendations for future research -- 4.9 Key references -- 5: Perinatal Effects of Sex Hormones in Programming of Susceptibility to Disease -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Timing of masculinisation and its body-wide effects -- 5.3 Disorders of masculinisation -- 5.4 Male-female differences in disease risk: the potential role of perinatal androgens -- 5.5 Fetal growth, susceptibility to intrauterine growth restriction and its long-term consequences, including timing of puberty -- 5.6 Growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor-I axis -- 5.7 Brain and behavioural effects -- 5.8 Sex differences in eating disorders, neuronal mechanisms and adipose tissue distribution -- 5.8.1 Eating disorders -- 5.8.2 Kisspeptin system.

5.8.3 Dietary preferences -- 5.8.4 Body fat distribution -- 5.9 Cardiovascular disease/hypertension -- 5.10 Kidney disease/hypertension -- 5.11 The immune system -- 5.12 Lung development and disease risk -- 5.13 Effects of maternal diet/obesity and infant feeding choices -- 5.14 'Fetal programming' and epigenetic mechanisms -- 5.15 Conclusions -- 5.16 Key points -- 5.17 Recommendations for future research -- 5.18 Key references -- 6: Neurological Development -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.1.1 The vulnerability of the developing brain -- 6.1.2 Mechanistic studies in animal models -- 6.1.3 Levels of nutritional effect -- 6.1.4 Environments -- 6.2 The developing brain -- 6.2.1 Timing -- 6.2.2 Human brain development -- 6.2.3 Pregnancy outcome -- 6.3 Brain energy balance circuits and peripheral feedback signals -- 6.3.1 Background -- 6.3.2 Structures and development -- 6.3.3 Hormonal feedback -- 6.4 Nutritional influences on the developing brain -- 6.4.1 Risk factors -- 6.4.2 Global over-nutrition -- 6.4.3 Global under-nutrition -- 6.4.4 Micronutrient deficiency -- 6.4.5 Long-chain fatty acid deficiency -- 6.5 Programming mechanisms -- 6.5.1 Glucocorticoids -- 6.5.2 Epigenetics -- 6.6 Nutritional interventions -- 6.7 Conclusions -- 6.8 Key points -- 6.9 Recommendations for future research -- 6.10 Key references -- 7: Establishing of Gut Microbiota and Bacterial Colonisation of the Gut in Early Life -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.1.1 Investigating gut microbiota -- 7.1.2 Human gut microbiota -- 7.2 Acquisition of the gut microbiota -- 7.3 Factors affecting the infant gut microbiota (acquisition and development) -- 7.3.1 Gestational age -- 7.3.2 Mode of delivery -- 7.3.3 Host genetics -- 7.3.4 Geography and/or lifestyles -- 7.3.5 Diet -- 7.4 The gut microbiota of exclusively milk-fed infants -- 7.5 The effects of weaning on the infant gut microbiota.

7.6 Potential long-term effects: implications for obesity -- 7.7 Conclusions -- 7.8 Key points -- 7.9 Recommendations for future research -- 7.10 Key references -- 8: Nutrition and Development: Obesity -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Inadequate in utero nutrition: a risk factor for obesity in later life? -- 8.2.1 Evidence from human population studies -- 8.2.2 Early postnatal 'catch-up' growth and obesity risk -- 8.2.3 Exposure to famine during gestation -- 8.3 Breastfeeding and risk of obesity in later life -- 8.4 Maternal diabetes and obesity: early life determinants of offspring obesity? -- 8.4.1 Association of higher birthweight with offspring adiposity -- 8.4.2 Maternal diabetes -- 8.4.3 Maternal obesity: a determinant of offspring obesity? -- 8.4.4 Gestational weight gain and offspring adiposity -- 8.5 Interventions to reduce offspring obesity? -- 8.5.1 Reducing low birthweight -- 8.5.2 Reducing infant postnatal weight gain -- 8.5.3 Formula feed composition -- 8.6 Interventions in pregnant diabetic women -- 8.7 Interventions in obese pregnant women -- 8.7.1 Other modifiable factors which may contribute to offspring obesity -- 8.8 Mechanisms underlying the early life origins of obesity -- role of animal studies -- 8.8.1 Maternal under-nutrition -- 8.8.2 Maternal diabetes -- 8.8.3 Maternal obesity -- 8.8.4 Neonatal overfeeding -- 8.9 A central role for disturbance in pathways of appetite regulation -- 8.9.1 Fetal and neonatal hyperinsulinaemia -- 8.9.2 Fetal and neonatal hyperleptinaemia -- 8.9.3 Maternal obesity -- 8.9.4 Cellular pathways of energy metabolism -- 8.9.5 Mechanisms underlying persistent modification of gene expression -- 8.10 Conclusions -- 8.11 Key points -- 8.12 Recommendations for future research -- 8.13 Key references -- 9: Nutrition and Development: Type 2 Diabetes -- 9.1 Introduction.

9.2 Relationships between birthweight and type 2 diabetes.