Low Birth Weight Associated with a High Risk of Lifestyle-related Diseases: Fetal Programing During the Developmental Stage

Abstract

Lifestyle-related diseases have been considered to be caused by genetic factors and lifestyle. In recent years, it has been reported that there is a third factor, based on the developmental origin of health and disease (DOHaD), which involves environmental factors during fetal life and development that are related to health in adulthood and the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases. In Japan, the percentage of low birth weight (LBW) infants born below 2,500 g has been increasing since around 1980, which seems to correlate with the increase in thinness (body mass index <18.5 kg/m²) of women in their 20s and 30s, inadequate caloric intake during pregnancy, and increasing age at first birth. It is interpreted that infants who acquire a thrifty constitution through this process become relatively overnourished as the nutritional environment improves after birth, leading to an increased risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases. Since it is difficult to correct the acquired frugality after birth, pediatricians need to be aware of the future development of obesity and insulin resistance when monitoring adolescents and young adults born as LBW infants. Physicians caring for adults also need to pay attention to the patient’s birth history, when the patient has a lifestyle-related disease.