Fascinating insights into the developmental consequences of the first 1000 days of life

There've been a number of radio and television programmes that I've learnt alot from lately. First was BBC Two's Horizon, "The nine months that made you", next BBC Radio Four's "The first 1000 days: a legacy for life", and finally, BBC R4 again, Women's Hour and "Babies and salt". Altogether, they provide a very interesting collection of research into the consequences of behaviour in pregnancy, but also lifestyles of Mum and Dad around conception. I certainly learned alot and recommend a listen/watch if you can catch them in time. (I'm being a bit lazy, but may summarize the findings for you in another blog if I'm feeling generous!)

1. Summary from iplayer: Horizon explores the secrets of what makes a long, healthy and happy life. It turns out that a time you can't remember - the nine months you spend in the womb - could have more lasting effects on you today than your lifestyle or genes. It is one of the most powerful and provocative new ideas in human science, and it was pioneered by a British scientist, Professor David Barker. His theory has inspired a field of study that is revealing how our time in the womb could affect your health, personality, and even the lives of your children.

2. Radio four summary: Imagine if your health as an adult is partly determined by the nutrition and environment you were exposed to in the first 1000days of life. Or even further back; that the lifestyle of your grandparents during their children's first 1000 days, has programmed your adult health. A strong body of scientific evidence supports this explosive idea, and is gradually turning medical thinking on its head. To understand the cause of chronic adult disease, including ageing, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity and lung problems we need to look much further back than adult lifestyle - but to the first 1000 days.

In this groundbreaking three part series Dr Mark Porter talks to the scientists who now believe that this 'lifecourse' approach, will find the cause of many adult diseases. "Chronic disease is going up in leaps and bounds, this is not a genetic change" says Kent Thornburg, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine in Oregon, America "it's because the environment in the womb is getting worse. We know now that the first 1000 days of life is the most sensitive period for determining lifelong health'.

But it's not just down to mothers or grandmothers, there is growing evidence that diet and lifestyle along the paternal line matters too. 'You are what your dad ate,' argues Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith of Cambridge University.

"Growth has a pattern," continues Alan Jackson, Professor of Nutrition at Southampton University "everything has a time and a place and if that gets interrupted then you can catch up, but there are consequences".

So where does that leave us as adults? Good diet and lifestyle is very important, but scientists know that some individuals are more vulnerable to disease than others, and that's not just down to genetics. "All diseases may be expressions of key developments in the womb" explains Professor David Barker, "That does not mean you are doomed, it means you are vulnerable. Understanding that challenges the way medicine is structured".

Mark Porter sets out to investigate his own birth history and meets families to debate these overwhelming ideas. He talks to world leading scientists about how this approach to adult disease can help make us healthier and learns top tips for the first 1000 days.

R4 summary: Seventy per cent of eight-month-old babies have a salt intake higher than the recommended UK maximum level, a study by University of Bristol has found. Researchers at the Children of the 90s project identified salty and processed foods like yeast extract, gravy, baked beans and tinned spaghetti in babies' diets. They also found that many babies are given cows’ milk, which has higher levels of salt than breast or formula milk, as their main drink despite recommendations that it should not be used in this way until babies are at least one year old. So how do you avoid salt in babies’ food and how can nutritional advice best be communicated to parents? One of the report’s authors Dr Pauline Emmett and paediatric dietician Jessica Williams join Jenni to discuss.