Fig. 1: Effect of postpartum maternal physical activity and postweaning diet on offspring weight, calorie absorption, and calorie expenditure.

A Experimental design of generating four groups of offspring. Sed offspring were raised by mothers housed in standard cages while Run offspring were raised by mothers from P2 in cages equipped with running wheels. At P21, male and female offspring were transferred to standard cages on either 13% or 21% fat calorie diet. B Sed and Run male offspring on 13% fat calorie diet had comparable weights. The 21% diet, relative to the 13% diet, resulted in a modest weight gain in both Sed and Run males. One-way ANOVA, F(3,32) = 8.354, P = 0.0003. Sed^13% vs. Sed^21%, Tukey’s test for multiple comparisons, *p = 0.0410; Run^13% vs. Run^21%, **p = 0.0021. N = 10 (Sed^13%), 11 (Sed^21%), 6 (Run^13%), 9 (Run^21%). Female offspring showed a similar trend, but weight gain was significant only in the Sed group. One-way ANOVA, F(3,36) = 5.540, P = 0.00031. Sed^13% vs. Sed^21%, Tukey’s test for multiple comparisons, p = 0.0088. N = 7 (Sed^13%), 11 (Sed^21%), 14 (Run^13%), 8 (Run^21%). C Increased liver weight in Sed^21% males (left) but not females (right). Males, one-way ANOVA, F(3,26) = 3.422, P = 0.0319. Sed^13% vs. Sed^21%, Tukey’s test for multiple comparisons, *p = 0.0394. N = 8 (Sed^13%), 8 (Sed^21%), 5 (Run^13%), 9 (Run^21%). Females, one-way ANOVA, F(3,36) = 2.396, P = 0.0842. N = 7 (Sed^13%), 11 (Sed^21%), 14 (Run^13%), 8 (Run^21%). D Weight gain in Sed^21% and Run^21% males was due to increased body fat accumulation as measured by MRI. Two-way ANOVA, interaction between body composition and diet F(3,40) = 6.688, P = 0.0009; body composition F(1,40) = 1068, P < 0.0001; diet F(3,40) = 6.204, P = 0.0015. Sed^13% vs. Sed^21%, Tukey’s correction for multiple comparison, ****p = 0.0004; Run^13% vs. Run^21%, ***p = 0.0017. N = 6 (Sed^13%), 7 (Sed^21%), 5 (Run^13%), 6 (Run^21%). E, F Calorie absorption and expenditure were not influenced by postpartum maternal physical activity or postweaning offspring diet. Calories absorbed, One-way ANOVA, F(3,20) = 1.380, P = 0.2777. Expenditure, Two-way ANOVA, interaction between time and group, F(6,40) = 0.7514, P = 0.6120. N = 6 (Sed^13%), 7 (Sed^21%), 5 (Run^13%), 6 (Run^21%).