Abstract
This book aims to paint a broad picture of current understanding of fetal programming. The volume presents a range of epidemiological data demonstrating links between events in fetal life and the development of cardiovascular disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, obesity and disorders of the immune system. The book is divided into three parts: programming the fetus (Part I), programming human disease (part II) and biological basis of nutritional programming (part III). Part I sets out the basic principles of programming and considers the potential contribution of undernutrition and other insults during critical phases of embryonic and fetal development, to abnormal physiology and disease processes in later life. Part II provides the core of the book and shows how suggestive epidemiological evidence for an association between characteristics at birth and later disease is replicated in experimental model. This part presents data that question the birthweight-disease association, highlighting the importance of well-designed experimental studies. The final part of the book sets out current ideas about the interrelationships of maternal nutrition, placental function and fetal endocrinology and looks at how early nutrient-gene interactions may exert permanent influences on health and well-being of an individual.