Maternal diet, oocyte nutrition and metabolism and offspring health

Malnutrition (i.e. undernutrition and overnutrition) is a world-wide phenomenon that can affect mammalian oocyte developmental competence following fertilization, compromising the establishment of pregnancy. However, live birth is usually possible during maternal malnutrition even in extremes cases of undernutrition (i.e. anorexia nervosa) and overnutrition (i.e. morbid obesity). Several epidemiological and clinical studies in humans and experimental animal models have demonstrated that in utero development under nutritional stress can program the development of non-communicable diseases (NCD) in adult life (e.g. diabetes, metabolic syndrome). Of further significance is the fact that malnutrition can also program the development of NCD in adulthood via changes on oocyte physiology before conception. This chapter focuses on the available evidence supporting this latter hypothesi