Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and later
obesity and metabolic disorders have classically been associated with maternal
malnutrition, but most cases of IUGR are related to
placental insufficiency. The current study, using a swine model for IUGR and
obesity, aimed to determine the interaction of
birth weight (categorized as low birth weight [LBW] or normal
birth-weight [NBW]) and postnatal diet (categorized as maintenance diet [MD] or fattening diet [FD]) on
body weight, adiposity and metabolic traits. FD induced higher
body weight and adiposity (both p < 0.0001), with higher
fructosamine levels (p < 0.005) and a trend toward higher HOMA-β index (p = 0.05). NBW pigs remained heavier than LBW pigs during the early juvenile period (p < 0.005), but there were no differences at later stages. There were no differences in metabolic traits during juvenile development, but there were differences in adulthood, when LBW pigs showed higher
glucose and lower
insulin levels than NBW pigs (both p < 0.05). These results suggest that (a) FD allows LBW offspring to achieve similar
obesity in adulthood as NBW offspring, and (b)
glucose metabolism is more compromised in obese LBW than obese NBW pigs. The comparison of our data with previous studies highlights significant differences between offspring with LBW induced by maternal
malnutrition or
placental insufficiency, which should be considered when studying the condition.