Baylor College of Medicine researchers report that when female mice voluntarily exercise during pregnancy, their offspring become more physically active as adults. The findings are published in The FASEB Journal.
Robert A. Waterland, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics – nutrition and of molecular and human genetics at the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital and senior author of the study, emphasized that although the experiments were conducted in mice, “several human studies have reported results consistent with ours.” The mouse model allowed the team to isolate prenatal effects from postnatal influences such as parenting behavior or inherited activity-related genes.
The investigators selected genetically identical female mice with an established preference for running, then randomly assigned them to two groups. One group had continuous access to an unlocked running wheel before and during pregnancy; the control group had running wheels that were locked. The researchers monitored maternal running throughout gestation and later tracked multiple outcomes in offspring, including body weight, body composition, food intake, energy expenditure, total cage activity, and running wheel activity at several ages.
During early pregnancy the exercising females averaged about 10 km per night; running decreased with advancing pregnancy but remained substantial, with mothers typically covering or walking roughly 3 km per night by the start of the third trimester. Offspring of the exercise group proved markedly different in behavior: as adults they were roughly 50 percent more physically active than offspring of non-exercising mothers. This increase in voluntary activity persisted into later adulthood and translated into a greater capacity to lose fat during a three-week voluntary exercise program, particularly evident in older females.
These results support the idea that maternal movement during pregnancy can influence fetal brain development in ways that bias offspring toward greater lifelong activity. “Although many assume that an individual’s tendency to be physically active is determined primarily by genetics, our results clearly show that the prenatal environment can play an important role,” Waterland said. By controlling for genetic background and postnatal maternal behavior in a mouse model, the study isolates prenatal maternal exercise as a key factor shaping the offspring’s lifelong propensity for activity.
If a comparable effect exists in people, promoting safe exercise during pregnancy could be a cost-effective approach to help counter the global rise in physical inactivity and obesity. The public health implications are significant: increasing physical activity at the population level reduces multiple chronic disease risks and supports healthier weight across the lifespan.
Major clinical organizations already encourage most pregnant women to remain active in the absence of medical complications. For example, expert groups recommend approximately 30 minutes or more of moderate activity on most days. Waterland noted the motivational value of the new findings: “If expectant mothers understand that exercise is not only beneficial for their own health but may also provide lifelong advantages for their children, many will feel more encouraged to stay active.”
The study team included Jesse D. Eclarinal, Shaoyu Zhu, Maria S. Baker, Danthasinghe B. Piyarathna, Cristian Coarfa, Marta L. Fiorotto, and Robert A. Waterland, all affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. Funding was provided by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (CRIS 6250-51000-055 and CRIS 3092-5-001-059) and from the National Institutes of Health (AR46308).
Source: Dipali Pathak – Baylor College of Medicine
Image credit: The image is in the public domain.
Original research: Abstract for “Maternal exercise during pregnancy promotes physical activity in adult offspring” by Jesse D. Eclarinal, Shaoyu Zhu, Maria S. Baker, Danthasinghe B. Piyarathna, Cristian Coarfa, Marta L. Fiorotto, and Robert A. Waterland in FASEB Journal. Published online March 31, 2016. doi:10.1096/fj.201500018R
Abstract
Maternal exercise during pregnancy promotes physical activity in adult offspring
Previous rodent studies have shown that maternal voluntary exercise during pregnancy produces metabolic changes in adult offspring. This study tested whether maternal voluntary exercise also induces persistent changes in offspring voluntary physical activity. Adult C57BL/6J female mice were randomly caged with either an unlocked (U) or locked (L) running wheel before and during pregnancy. Maternal running was recorded during pregnancy, and offspring were assessed at various ages for body weight, body composition, food intake, energy expenditure, total cage activity, and running wheel activity. Offspring from mothers with unlocked wheels (U offspring) were slightly heavier at birth, but there were no lasting differences in body weight or composition when mice were later housed without wheel access. Consistent with the hypothesis, U offspring displayed greater voluntary physical activity as adults, with the effect appearing earlier in females at sexual maturation. At 300 days of age, U females showed greater fat loss in response to a three-week voluntary exercise program. These findings demonstrate that maternal physical activity during pregnancy can alter an offspring’s lifelong tendency to be physically active, with potential implications for addressing global physical inactivity and obesity.—Eclarinal JD et al.