Doctoral Dissertation Research: Intergenerational impacts of diet and lifestyle change among Alaska Native women and their children

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

Recent studies in human developmental biology suggest that there may be evolutionarily adaptive patterns of fetal growth that are related to the maternal nutritional environment. In modern populations, this linkage between fetal growth and maternal nutrition may be maladaptive in cases where maternal obesity may negatively affect infant and child outcomes. This doctoral dissertation project will explore the intergenerational effects of traditional (versus store-bought) food consumption among Alaska Native women and their children residing in Anchorage, Alaska. This population has seen dramatic increases in obesity and related problems in the last 20 to 30 years, and prior research has focused on the direct impacts of store-bought foods and decreased physical activity. Studying the potential intergenerational effects of diet will expand our understanding of how nutrition shapes human physiology. The project will support community partnerships with Alaska Native organizations and communities, involve local students in the research, and inform public health efforts to address the globally-relevant obesity epidemic. Research on the long-term basic biology, and the resulting health impacts, of the intrauterine nutritional environment has led to the hypothesis that the fetus adjusts metabolic set points to match prevailing nutritional conditions in the world it will soon enter. Rising rates of maternal obesity and elevated blood glucose due to culturally-based shifts in diet and lifestyle may be creating an evolutionarily novel gestational milieu that promotes altered fetal growth, obesity, and metabolic dysregulation in offspring. By assessing how dietary composition (traditional and store-bought foods) impacts maternal metabolism during pregnancy among Alaska Native women, a population who is experiencing ongoing shifts in diet, this study will examine the impacts of maternal pregnancy metabolism on fetal and infant growth. The proposed research will be conducted with the goal of establishing a long-term productive collaboration with the Alaska Native community, and will contribute to a better understanding of emerging health disparities observed in this population.