Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally and presents a major challenge to policy makers and clinicians alike. Recent research has suggested that obesity has its origins in early life and that early diet can programme a developing fetus' and young infant's future susceptibility to obesity. This volume contains recent findings presented at the International Conference on Early Nutrition Programming and Health Outcomes in Later Life: Obesity and Beyond - a satellite meeting of the 15th European Congress on Obesity, held in Budapest in April 2007. Basic scientific research, data from epidemiological studies and clinical trial results were all presented during the programme.

This volume includes articles discussing the evidence for an effect of early nutrition programming on later obesity and cardiovascular risk; the growing evidence for an intergenerational cycle of obesity; the role of maternal leptin in programming appetite; possible cellular mechanisms for altered energy balance, including mitochondrial programming and the effects of regulators of metabolism; and how epigenetic changes might be the fundamental underlying mechanism explaining programming effects. Consumer understanding of the concept of early nutrition programming and the extent to which early nutrition programming is taken into account in infant feeding policies are also discussed.

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Challenges and Novel Approaches in the Epidemiological Study of Early Life Influences on Later Disease.- Infant Feeding and Later Obesity Risk.- Developmental Origins of Osteoporosis: The Role of Maternal Nutrition.- Does Having Been Breastfed in Infancy Influence Lipid Profile in Later Life?: A Review of the Literature.- The Early Origins of Atherosclerosis.- Do LCPUFAs Influence Cardiovascular Function in Early Childhood?.- Effects of Supplementing LCPUFA to the Diet of Pregnant Women: Data from RCT.- The Early Origins of Later Obesity: Pathways and Mechanisms.- Developmental Origins of Obesity: Programming of Food Intake or Physical Activity?.- NutrientGene Interactions in Early Life Programming: Leptin in Breast Milk Prevents Obesity Later on in Life.- Early Nutrition and Later Obesity: Animal Models Provide Insights into Mechanisms.- Tissue Specific Adaptations to Nutrient Supply: More than Just Epigenetics?.- Epigenetics Potential Contribution to Fetal Programming.- Programming of Impaired Insulin Secretion Versus Sensitivity: Cause or Effect?.- PGC-1?: A Co-activator That Sets the Tone for Both Basal and Stress-Stimulated Mitochondrial Activity.- Pharmacological and Gene Modification-Based Models for Studying the Impact of Perinatal Metabolic Disturbances in Adult Life.- Adipose TissueMuscle Interactions and the Metabolic Effects of n-3 LCPUFA Implications for Programming Effects of Early Diet.- Trans Isomeric and LCPUFA Are Inversely Correlated in Erythrocyte Membrane Lipids at Mid-gestation.- Early Growth and Body Composition in Infancy.- Obesity Related Programming Statements in Infant Feeding Policies in Five European Countries.- Obesity Related Programming Statements in Materials on Infant Feeding Aimed at Parents in Five European Countries.-Infant Feeding and the Concept of Early Nutrition Programming: A Comparison of Qualitative Data from Four European Countries.- What is the EARNEST Dissemination and Exploitation Consensus Panel (DECP)?.