# Sex differences in cardiometabolic health of offspring born from obese mothers with and without exercise

> **NIH NIH SC1** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO · 2020 · $354,790

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Obesity is a global epidemic; nearly 60% of women of reproductive age are considered overweight or obese in
the U.S., and this percentage is continuously rising. The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing at
alarming rates, and children born from obese mothers have higher risks of developing diabetes, metabolic
syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases. Compelling evidence from various species indicates that maternal
obesity negatively influences the metabolic health of offspring and impacts various systems; however, there is
a limited study investigating cardiac dysfunction of offspring born from obese mothers. Cardiomyopathy
associated with mitochondrial disease occurs in 20-40% of children, and mitochondrial dysfunction is more
prevalent in obese children than normal weight children. Unfortunately, the cellular and molecular mechanisms
remain poorly understood. The long-term goal of this study is to determine the lifelong effects and mechanisms
of an underlying abnormal maternal metabolic environment on cardiometabolic diseases in offspring and
provide evidence for therapeutic strategy for preventing childhood obesity through maternal exercise. We have
recently established pre-pregnancy and gestational obesity model in female mice in which the male offspring
developed glucose intolerance and insulin resistance to a greater extent than female offspring. To address sex
as a biological variable, both male and female offspring will be used to: 1) evaluate in vivo and in vitro
contractile properties of the heart in response to maternal obesity with and without exercise; 2) determine
morphological/structural alterations and gene expression of the heart born from obese mothers with and
without exercise; and 3) determine oxidative stress and the mitochondrial function as the underlying
mechanisms of maternal obesity and exercise on altered cardiometabolic health of offspring. Although the
long-term beneficial effect of exercise on cardiac function is well documented in healthy normal weight
population, to the best of our knowledge, our study is the first study to investigate the role of maternal exercise
on cardiac function of offspring and the underlying mechanisms emphasizing on sex differences on
mitochondrial function. The results of this proposed study will advance our knowledge of how maternal
exercise modifies the cardiac structure, mitochondrial function, and overall heart function; and thus, could
provide a new intervention for preventing heart disease associated with childhood obesity. Our proposal is well
aligned with NIH’s mission to reduce the burden of chronic diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9854565
- **Project number:** 1SC1GM125603-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO
- **Principal Investigator:** Eunhee Chung
- **Activity code:** SC1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $354,790
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-07 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9854565

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9854565, Sex differences in cardiometabolic health of offspring born from obese mothers with and without exercise (1SC1GM125603-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9854565. Licensed CC0.

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