Location: Microbiome and Metabolism Research
Project Number: 6026-10700-001-036-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2026
End Date: Jul 31, 2027
Objective:
The overarching objective of this research program is to define how nutrition, physical activity, and sleep, across critical developmental windows, shape child health, with a focus on cardio-metabolic, musculoskeletal, brain, and gut outcomes. The research integrates in vitro, preclinical, and clinical studies to understand how early-life exposures influence disease risk and resilience, and to inform interventions and evidence-based guidelines for pediatric health.
Key objectives include examining how maternal health characteristics, including physical activity and body composition, influence fetal development and long-term child cardio-metabolic and brain health. Clinical trials and cohort studies are designed to test the effects of structured prenatal exercise programs and maternal health status on child outcomes through adolescence. Implementation science strategies are also applied to evaluate how these interventions can be effectively delivered in both clinical and community settings.
Nutrition-focused studies explore healthy dietary patterns during lactation and early childhood, their impact on breastfeeding outcomes, human milk composition, and subsequent child growth and metabolic function. Additional research investigates how dietary quality is affected in children diagnosed with food allergies, and how targeted dietary interventions can improve health outcomes for both mothers and children. Studies in adolescents with elevated BMI assess the interplay of dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep on cardio-metabolic risk factors and developmental trajectories.
Preclinical models are used to investigate the biological mechanisms underpinning these effects, including how maternal and paternal fitness status influences offspring health trajectories. Mechanistic studies explore the roles of adipose tissue development, vascular function, bioenergetics, and epigenetic modifications in shaping child health from birth through adolescence. These studies also examine how early life nutrition, particularly fruit and vegetable intake, can help counteract the potential health impacts associated with prenatal weight-related factors on bone and muscle development. Further, research explores how early dietary metabolites influence gut health development and immune function.
Collectively, this research aims to generate actionable knowledge on how early nutrition and lifestyle behaviors contribute to lifelong health, and to develop scalable strategies that can improve child health outcomes across broad participant groups.
Approach:
The research program employs an integrative, multi-level approach to investigate how parental nutrition, body composition, physical activity, and sleep during pregnancy and child development influence offspring cardio-metabolic health and brain function into adolescence. By combining in vitro, preclinical, clinical intervention, and longitudinal cohort studies, the program aims to identify biological mechanisms and translational strategies that inform pediatric health outcomes across the life course. With several studies already underway, all necessary ethical approvals are in place, and participant recruitment is ongoing. The requested funding will sustain and expand these efforts.
Central to this program is a follow-up study involving an established parent-child cohort tracked through adolescence (up to age 14). This study collects data on body composition, dietary patterns, physical activity, metabolic and cardiovascular markers, brain imaging, microbiome composition, and other health indicators using tools such as blood biomarker analysis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and microbial sequencing.
A randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluates the impact of a supervised prenatal exercise program compared to standard care in pregnant individuals with elevated body weight and low physical activity levels. In parallel, a Hybrid Type 2 RCT assesses the clinical effectiveness and implementation feasibility of a prenatal exercise intervention in non-clinical settings.
A prospective, longitudinal cohort study follows participants and their infants from late pregnancy through two years postpartum. This study includes virtual lactation counseling and remote data collection on infant growth, parental mental health, feeding practices, activity patterns, and human milk composition. In parallel, an RCT evaluates a prenatal and a postnatal intervention on breastfeeding outcomes (initiation, duration, exclusivity) and human milk composition. Another study tracks 180 children with food allergies over two years to understand how dietary restrictions affect nutritional intake, growth, and health.
In adolescents with obesity, a randomized study examines how diet, physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and sleep independently and jointly influence cardio-metabolic risk markers. Longitudinal studies investigate whether healthy eating and fitness behaviors during childhood predict cardio-metabolic health into early adulthood.
Preclinical models are leveraged to explore how parental cardiorespiratory fitness influences offspring metabolic and cardiovascular health. These models examine how early-life physical activity affects offspring development. Mechanistic studies assess adipose tissue development, vascular function, energy expenditure, and epigenetic programming, using tools such as indirect calorimetry, omics profiling, and longitudinal cardiovascular assessments.
Additional research evaluates whether diets rich in fruits and vegetables during pregnancy or early life mitigate the impact of energy-dense, nutrient-poor diets.