Early exercise intervention ameliorates the detrimental impact of maternal obesity

Aim: To examine the effects of an early exercise intervention on male offspring of obese mothers consuming either chow (C) or a high fat chow diet (F).

Method: Adult female Sprague Dawley rats were fed either C or F ad libitum for 5 weeks, then were mated with C fed males and remained on their respective diet during gestation and lactation. At day 20, males from each litter were separated into C or F fed groups in the presence or absence of voluntary exercise wheels, yielding 4 groups. At 10 weeks of age, the running wheel was removed. At 15 weeks of age, rats were euthanased for tissue and plasma collection.

Results: At weaning, pups from F mothers were 29% heavier than those from C mothers. At 15 weeks, fasting plasma insulin level was significantly reduced by exercise (49%) in offspring of F mothers consuming F, compared to those remaining sedentary and consuming the same diet. Exercise reduced body weight (BW) in rats of F mothers consuming C (−18%) but not F (−1%) as well as total fat mass (−65%).

Conclusions: Exercise in early life had long lasting beneficial effects on the BW, adipose mass and hormone profile of male offspring from obese mothers. This was observed after 5 weeks without exercise suggesting that early exercise may prevent subsequent weight gain due to later sedentary lifestyle. Thus, an early exercise intervention might have a protective effect on the adult metabolic profile following maternal obesity.