One factor thought to contribute to this rise is obesity of the mother during pregnancy. However, a team of researchers, at Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, have found the offspring of both lean and obese nonhuman primate mothers chronically consuming a high-fat diet exhibited an increased risk of developing NAFLD. Importantly, if mothers fed a high-fat diet were reverted to a low-fat diet during a subsequent pregnancy, this second offspring exhibited fewer signs of NAFLD. The team, led by Kevin Grove and Jacob Friedman, therefore suggests that a developing fetus is highly susceptible to maternal consumption of excess fat, whether or not the mother is obese, and that a healthy maternal diet is most important for the obesity-related health of a developing fetus.
jci/
In addition to Ms. Lovell, study authors are Kenneth Harris, MD, Thomas Forbes, MD, Beth Abramson, MD, Gwen Twillman, Paul Schroeder, MA, Emile R. Mohler, III, MD, Michael H. Criqui, MD, MPH, and Alan T. Hirsch, MD. The Canadian Journal of Cardiology is the official journal of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, a member of the P.A.D. Coalition.
The P.A.D. Coalition funded the study through grants from Sanofi-Aventis Canada, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Cordis Endovascular, a division of Cordis Corporation.
For more information on P.A.D. and available resources, visit www.PADcoalition.
About the P.A.D. Coalition The Peripheral Arterial Disease (P.A.D.) Coalition is an alliance of more than 75 North American health organizations, professional societies, government agencies and corporations united to raise public and health professional awareness about lower extremity P.A.D. Established in 2004, the P.A.D. Coalition is a division of the Vascular Disease Foundation (www.vdf), a national, not-for-profit section 501(c)(3) organization. The P.A.D. Coalition seeks to improve the prevention, early detection, treatment, and rehabilitation of people with, or at risk for, P.A.D.
PADCoalition