Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Childhood obesity is currently one of the most important public health issues in Canada. One in five preschool aged children are overweight or obese putting them at increased risk of remaining overweight in adult life and developing other chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease. Early prevention of obesity is important but the causes of excessive weight gain are complex. Recent attention has focused on the potential role of our gut bacteria (gut "microbiota") in the development of obesity. The first year of life represents an important period for the development and establishment of the gut microbiota. Differences in gut microbiota metabolites, including short chain fatty acids derived from the microbial fermentation of dietary substrates, have been observed between normal weight and obese children. However, it is unknown if differences in infancy precede development of later childhood overweight. The aim of this research will be to examine the association between gut metabolites measured at 3 months of age with overweight status at 3 years in 200 Canadian infants enrolled in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study. The study has the potential to reveal early life fecal biomarkers predictive of later childhood obesity risk.