Exercise during pregnancy protects adult mouse offspring from diet-induced obesity

BACKGROUND: Physical exercise induces positive alterations in gene expression involved in the metabolism of obesity. Maternal exercise provokes adaptations soon after birth in the offspring. Here, we investigated whether adult mouse offspring of swim-trained mothers is protected against the development of the deleterious effects of high fat diet (HFD). METHODS: Our study comprises two parts. First, female C57BL/6 mice were divided into one sedentary and one swim-trained group (before and during pregnancy, n = 18). In the second part, adult offspring (n = 12) of trained and sedentary mothers was challenged to HFD for 16 weeks. Notably, most of the analysis was done in male offspring. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that maternal exercise has several beneficial effects on the mouse offspring and protects them from the deleterious effects of HFD in the adult. Specifically, swimming during pregnancy leads to lower birth weight in offspring through 2 months of age. When subjected to HFD for 4 month in the adulthood, our study presents novel data on the male offspring's metabolism of trained mothers. The offspring gained less weight, which was accompanied by less body fat, and they used more calories during daytime compared with offspring of sedentary mothers. Furthermore, we observed increased adiponectin expression in skeletal muscle, which was accompanied by decreased leptin levels and increased insulin sensitivity. Decreased interleukin-6 expression and increased peptide PYY levels were observed in sera of adult offspring of mothers that swam during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Our results point to the conclusion that maternal exercise is beneficial to protect the offspring from developing obesity, which could be important for succeeding generations as well

Paternal exercise protects against liver steatosis in the male offspring of mice submitted to high fat diet

Parental lifestyle has been related to alterations in the phenotype of their offspring. Obese sires can induce offspring insulin resistance as well as increase susceptibility to obesity. On the other hand, obese sires submitted to voluntary exercise ameliorate the deleterious metabolic effects on their offspring. However, there are no studies reporting the effect of programmed exercise training of lean sires on offspring metabolism. AIMS: This study aimed to investigate the role of swimming training of sires for 6 weeks on the offspring metabolic phenotype. MAIN METHODS: Male C57BL/6 mice fed a control diet were divided into sedentary and swimming groups. After the exercise, they were mated with sedentary females, and body weight and molecular parameters of the offspring were subsequently monitored. KEY FINDINGS: Swimming decreased the gene expression of Fasn and Acaca in the testes and increased the AMPK protein content in the testes and epididymis of the sires. The progeny presented a low weight at P1, which reached a normal level at P60 and at P90 the animals were challenged with HFD for 16 weeks. The male offspring of trained sires presented less body weight gain than the control group. The level of steatosis decreased in the male offspring from trained sires. The gene expression of Prkaa2, Ppar-1α and Cpt-1 was also increased in the liver of male offspring from trained sires. SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, these findings suggest that paternal exercise training can improve the metabolic profile in the liver of the progeny, thereby ameliorating the effects of obesity