LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF INTRAUTERINE MA LNUTRITION

A large number of animal experimental data indicate that pre- or early postnatal malnutrition can have long term negative consequences on we ight and height, with smaller weight and height in adulthood than pred icted on genetics basis. Furthermore, according to the Barker's hypoth esis, based on data available from British cohort studies, in utero ma lnutrition could also result in an increased risk of cardiovascular, e ndocrine and metabolic diseases in adulthood. There are however discor dant data in the literature which invite to be cautious about on this hypothesis, mainly because the role of the socio-economic factors duri ng childhood and adulthood have not been taken into account.