WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY
There is accumulating evidence to suggest a link between malnutrition early in the life cycle and risk of diabetes, obesity and other chronic degenerative diseases later in life.

Recent research has suggested that risk to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and even cancer in adult life can originate as early in life as the womb. Sizes of baby at birth and childhood growth patterns are strong determinants of these diseases. Both low birth weight & high birth weight and rapid childhood growth are associated with adult diseases and related disorders.

Besides, birth weight and later weight gain, certain micro-nutrients, proteins, amino acids, vitamin B12, folic acid even in the peri-conceptional stage can regulate metabolic characteristics and risk of adult diseases later.

Post-natal nutrition including breastfeeding, protein intake in the first year of life, infant weight gain are also critical. Breastfeeding appears to have a protective effect.

A hypothesis originated by Barker in 1989 called “Barker’s Theory” led to much research in this area. Today, a vast number of studies have documented the relations between fetal and / or later risk for cardio-vascular disease. With the epidemic of these problems, the focus shifted from simply lifestyle related westernized diets to study the potential role of pre-natal and early post-natal nutrition. This introduced the concept of the developmental origins of chronic diseases, and thereby the interest in this early life period has increased dramatically.

There has been a shift in attention from focusing on later years to intra-uterine period (In the womb) in the life-cycle. It may be easy to accept the importance of intra-uterine period if we realize that almost three-fourth of cell divisions are over before we are born, that is to say, a newborn is almost a miniature adult. A new theory called “Developmental origins of health and disease” (DOHAD) evolved and is applicable to a number of modern day diseases like diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, cancer etc.

To be continued