Guidelines in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatologyand nutrition
Nutrition during pregnancy and in the first 1000 days of life
Valentina De Cosmi1, Carlo Agostoni1,2
1Pediatria a Media Intensità di Cura, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milano. 2Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche e di Comunità, Università di Milano.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) constitute a majorglobal health challenge. The four major groups of NCDs arecardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratorydiseases, and diabetes. All of them share the same fourmajor risk factors: tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol,unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity. Prevention of non-communicable diseases starts during the woman’s fertilelife, in particular in the peri-conceptional period andpregnancy. Metabolic imbalances can induce differentexpressions of child’s genetic potential. Afterwards, inchildhood food preferences are formed and are trackedinto childhood and beyond, and foundations are laid for ahealthy adult life.