Perinatal programming for obesity, autonomic and metabolic dysfunction: a case for PPAR-alpha

Obesity during infancy is becoming of major concern, since it persists until adulthood, and increases the risk to develop metabolic dysfunction later in life. Perinatal activation of PPAR-alpha is an important event to the oxidation of lipids, and it was shown during adulthood to prevent obesity and metabolic dysfunction induced by diet. We hypothesized that increased PPAR-alpha activation during lactation would prevent the development of obesity and metabolic dysfunction during adulthood, induced by post-natal overfeeding.