Maternal obesity accelerates rat offspring metabolic ageing in a sex-dependent manner.

Key Points: Maternal obesity predisposes to metabolic dysfunction in male and female offspring Maternal high-fat diet consumption prior to and throughout pregnancy and lactation accelerates offspring metabolic ageing in a sex-dependent manner This study provides evidence for programming-ageing interactions ABSTRACT: Human epidemiological studies show that maternal obesity (MO) shortens offspring life and health span. Life course cellular mechanisms involved in this developmental programming-ageing interaction are poorly understood. In a well-established rat MO model, female Wistar rats ate chow (controls (C)) or high energy, obesogenic diet to induce MO from weaning through pregnancy and lactation.