AS RR MV FB MC. Performed the experiments: AS MC. Analyzed the data: AS RR MV FB MC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: AS RR MV FB MC. Wrote the paper: AS RR MV FB MC.
A healthy diet is important for normal growth and development, especially during important developmental periods such as childhood and adolescence [1]. The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis posits that undernutrition during fetal and infant life results in early adaptations of the body, which may lead to U0126-EtOH chemical information chronic disease later in life [2]. This hypothesis is supported by results from Dutch famine GS-9620 manufacturer Studies [3?]. The Dutch famine took place in the winter of 1944?945. Inhabitants of the Western part of the Netherlands were exposed to severe undernutrition in the last 6 months of the Second World War. This historical event created a unique opportunity to gain insight into the longterm effects of a relatively short period of transient undernutrition. Because of the short exposure period, it is possible to pinpoint effects to specific growth periods in human life. Increased risks of overweight, diabetes, coronary heart disease, COPD and asthma have been reported in individuals who were exposed to the Dutch famine [3?]. Furthermore, famine exposure was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in one study [7], while others found no clear effects [8]. No associations were found with non-breast cancer risk [9]. The associations between famine exposure early in life and various biological outcomes may be due to biological effects, i.e. epigenetic [10] or hormonal changes [11], or to behavioral reactions following the exposure. The association between undernutrition early in life and different health behaviors later in life has not been investigated in depth before. To the best of our knowledge only one working paper describes the association between undernutrition and dietary intake. Kesternich et al. suggested that early-life shocks affect nutritional behavior later in life [12]. Exposure to hunger during childhood was related to an increased fraction of income that was spent on food later in life. However, true food intake was not measured and it was therefore not known if they consumed healthy or unhealthy products. No studies on other lifestyle factors are available. Studies have related adverse childhood experiences and stress during childhood to chronic disease risk later in life [13?5]. Miller et al present a model to explain how childhood stress mechanistically leads to higher susceptibility to chronic diseases later in life. Stress during childhood may among others impair self-regulation, resulting in unhealthy lifestyle choices [13]. We hypothesize that exposure to famine early in life is associated to an unhealthy lifestyle later in life. Unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, being physically inactive, and eating an unhealthy diet, are important risk factors for many non-communicable diseases [16, 17] and may act as an intermediate factor between famine exposure and chronic disease occurrence later in life. In the present study we therefore investigate if exposure to the Dutch famine during childhood and adolescence is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle later in life. We focus on the lifestyle factors smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity level and usual diet.PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0156609 May 31,2 /Famine Exposure and Unhealthy Lifestyle BehaviorMaterials and Methods The Dutch famineDuring th.AS RR MV FB MC. Performed the experiments: AS MC. Analyzed the data: AS RR MV FB MC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: AS RR MV FB MC. Wrote the paper: AS RR MV FB MC.
A healthy diet is important for normal growth and development, especially during important developmental periods such as childhood and adolescence [1]. The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis posits that undernutrition during fetal and infant life results in early adaptations of the body, which may lead to chronic disease later in life [2]. This hypothesis is supported by results from Dutch famine studies [3?]. The Dutch famine took place in the winter of 1944?945. Inhabitants of the Western part of the Netherlands were exposed to severe undernutrition in the last 6 months of the Second World War. This historical event created a unique opportunity to gain insight into the longterm effects of a relatively short period of transient undernutrition. Because of the short exposure period, it is possible to pinpoint effects to specific growth periods in human life. Increased risks of overweight, diabetes, coronary heart disease, COPD and asthma have been reported in individuals who were exposed to the Dutch famine [3?]. Furthermore, famine exposure was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in one study [7], while others found no clear effects [8]. No associations were found with non-breast cancer risk [9]. The associations between famine exposure early in life and various biological outcomes may be due to biological effects, i.e. epigenetic [10] or hormonal changes [11], or to behavioral reactions following the exposure. The association between undernutrition early in life and different health behaviors later in life has not been investigated in depth before. To the best of our knowledge only one working paper describes the association between undernutrition and dietary intake. Kesternich et al. suggested that early-life shocks affect nutritional behavior later in life [12]. Exposure to hunger during childhood was related to an increased fraction of income that was spent on food later in life. However, true food intake was not measured and it was therefore not known if they consumed healthy or unhealthy products. No studies on other lifestyle factors are available. Studies have related adverse childhood experiences and stress during childhood to chronic disease risk later in life [13?5]. Miller et al present a model to explain how childhood stress mechanistically leads to higher susceptibility to chronic diseases later in life. Stress during childhood may among others impair self-regulation, resulting in unhealthy lifestyle choices [13]. We hypothesize that exposure to famine early in life is associated to an unhealthy lifestyle later in life. Unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, being physically inactive, and eating an unhealthy diet, are important risk factors for many non-communicable diseases [16, 17] and may act as an intermediate factor between famine exposure and chronic disease occurrence later in life. In the present study we therefore investigate if exposure to the Dutch famine during childhood and adolescence is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle later in life. We focus on the lifestyle factors smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity level and usual diet.PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0156609 May 31,2 /Famine Exposure and Unhealthy Lifestyle BehaviorMaterials and Methods The Dutch famineDuring th.