PhD students participating in August Krogh seminars receive 0,2 ECTS per seminar
AKC seminar: Impact of Maternal Obesity and Gestational Diabetes on Offspring Health
Can We Prevent the Unhealthy Consequences?
August Krogh Seminar
Louise Groth Grunnet
Department of Clinical and Translational Research, Copenhagen University Hospital.
Team leader, Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Herlev, Denmark.
Abstract
The prevalence of children with overweight is increasing and more than 40% of Danish women enter pregnancy with overweight.
Fetal programming, which refers to the influence of the intrauterine environment on long-term health outcomes, plays a critical role in determining an individual’s susceptibility to diseases later in life.
Maternal obesity and gestational diabetes have been shown to significantly impact on the health of offspring, increasing their risk for conditions such as obesity, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.
Although lifestyle interventions during pregnancy have demonstrated limited success in mitigating these risks, a growing body of evidence suggests that intervening before pregnancy may be a more effective strategy for reducing the negative health impact on both mother and child.
Addressing maternal health and implementing preventive measures prior to conception could play a pivotal role in combating the rising incidence of childhood obesity and improving long-term health outcomes for future generations.
Links to relevant literature
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5711331/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39863406/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31296866/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37303007/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37704956/
Researcher profile
Louise Groth Grunnet is Senior Researcher and Team Leader heading the Clinical Prevention Research Team at Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen. She has a master’s in biology and obtained her PhD in Health Sciences from University of Copenhagen in 2011.
Her research focus is on fetal programming and the long-term consequences of fetal under and over-nutrition, gestational diabetes, the pathophysiology of obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, she focuses on the development of new interventions that can reduce the risk of prediabetes and obesity among adults and children at high risk.
Time
28 November 2025
14:00-15:00: Seminar and discussion
15:00-16:00: Post seminar servings and socializing
Venue
Auditorium 1, August Krogh Building, Universitetsparken 13, DK-2100 Copenhagen
Registration
Participation is free, but please register here.
For PhD students
PhD students participating in August Krogh seminars receive 0,2 ECTS per seminar
Contact
Anders Gudiksen, anders.gudiksen@bio.ku.dk
