Nutrition in early life, epigenetics and lifelong health - evidence from cohort and intervention studies
Nutrition in early life, epigenetics and lifelong health - evidence from cohort and intervention studies
This review summarises evidence from cohort and intervention studies on the relationships between nutrition in early life, epigenetics and lifelong health. Established links include maternal diet quality with conception rates, micronutrient sufficiency before and during pregnancy with preterm birth prevention, gestational vitamin D intake with offspring bone health, preconception iodine status with child IQ, adiposity with offspring obesity and maternal stress with childhood atopic eczema. Animal studies demonstrate that early-life environmental exposures induce lasting phenotypic changes via epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNA, with DNA methylation of non-imprinted genes most extensively studied. Human data show that nutrition during pregnancy induces epigenetic changes associated with childhood obesity risk, such as Antisense long Non-coding RNA in the INK4 Locus (ANRIL, a long non-coding RNA) methylation variations linked to obesity and replicated across multiple populations. Emerging insights reveal that paternal nutrition and lifestyle also modify sperm epigenomics and influence offspring development. Although nutritional-randomised trials in pregnancy remain limited, findings from the NiPPeR trial showed widespread preconception micronutrient deficiencies and indicated that maternal preconception and pregnancy nutritional supplementation can reduce preterm birth and early childhood obesity. The randomised trials UPBEAT and MAVIDOS have shown that nutritional intervention can impact offspring epigenetics. Postnatal nutritional exposures further influence offspring epigenetic profiles, exemplified by ALSPAC cohort findings linking rapid infant weight gain to later methylation changes and increased obesity risk. Together, these studies support a persistent impact of maternal and early-life nutrition on child health and development, underpinned by modifiable epigenetic processes.
Godfrey, Keith M.
0931701e-fe2c-44b5-8f0d-ec5c7477a6fd
Costello, Paula
8fc5c643-2d38-4443-975a-8704af2fa755
El-Heis, Sarah
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Godfrey, Keith M.
0931701e-fe2c-44b5-8f0d-ec5c7477a6fd
Costello, Paula
8fc5c643-2d38-4443-975a-8704af2fa755
El-Heis, Sarah
6d7d2e03-3d63-4510-8b7e-fcbe4653db13
Godfrey, Keith M., Costello, Paula and El-Heis, Sarah
(2025)
Nutrition in early life, epigenetics and lifelong health - evidence from cohort and intervention studies.
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.
(doi:10.1017/S0029665125102061).
Abstract
This review summarises evidence from cohort and intervention studies on the relationships between nutrition in early life, epigenetics and lifelong health. Established links include maternal diet quality with conception rates, micronutrient sufficiency before and during pregnancy with preterm birth prevention, gestational vitamin D intake with offspring bone health, preconception iodine status with child IQ, adiposity with offspring obesity and maternal stress with childhood atopic eczema. Animal studies demonstrate that early-life environmental exposures induce lasting phenotypic changes via epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNA, with DNA methylation of non-imprinted genes most extensively studied. Human data show that nutrition during pregnancy induces epigenetic changes associated with childhood obesity risk, such as Antisense long Non-coding RNA in the INK4 Locus (ANRIL, a long non-coding RNA) methylation variations linked to obesity and replicated across multiple populations. Emerging insights reveal that paternal nutrition and lifestyle also modify sperm epigenomics and influence offspring development. Although nutritional-randomised trials in pregnancy remain limited, findings from the NiPPeR trial showed widespread preconception micronutrient deficiencies and indicated that maternal preconception and pregnancy nutritional supplementation can reduce preterm birth and early childhood obesity. The randomised trials UPBEAT and MAVIDOS have shown that nutritional intervention can impact offspring epigenetics. Postnatal nutritional exposures further influence offspring epigenetic profiles, exemplified by ALSPAC cohort findings linking rapid infant weight gain to later methylation changes and increased obesity risk. Together, these studies support a persistent impact of maternal and early-life nutrition on child health and development, underpinned by modifiable epigenetic processes.
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Nutrition_Society_2025_-_Proc_Nut_Soc_review_PNS-2025-0067 ACCEPTED
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nutrition-in-early-life-epigenetics-and-lifelong-health-evidence-from-cohort-and-intervention-studies
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Accepted/In Press date: 16 December 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 December 2025
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 508681
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/508681
ISSN: 0029-6651
PURE UUID: 5e9edd94-4f54-4820-b777-2b8827687973
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Date deposited: 29 Jan 2026 17:46
Last modified: 31 Jan 2026 05:11
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Author:
Paula Costello
Author:
Sarah El-Heis
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