ABSTRACT
I. Introduction .............................................................................................................................97 II. Postweaning Diet Restriction .................................................................................................98 III. Preweaning Diet Restriction ...................................................................................................99 IV. Fetal and Infant Origins of Adult Disease ...........................................................................100 V. Early Undernutrition and Aging in Man ..............................................................................100 VI. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................103 References ......................................................................................................................................103
The effects of nutritional manipulation in early life are profound and far reaching. Immediate alterations in growth and development are matched by long-term changes in aging and lifespan. It is well recognized that postweaning diet restriction in a number of species results in reduced aging and prolonged lifespan. However, the long-term effects of earlier diet restriction on aging remain little explored. The few studies in this area suggest that preweaning diet restriction may have an opposite effect, and now there is growing epidemiological evidence that human undernutrition in early life is associated with detrimental structural and functional consequences in the long term. In this chapter, we summarize the findings from animal diet restriction studies and human epidemiological studies investigating the long-term effects of undernutrition in early life.
