Obesity during pregnancy not only affects maternal health but also puts offspring at high risk of obesity and of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases later in life, often regardless of their own lifestyle choices. This process, known as developmental programming, is increasingly being recognized as a critical factor shaping long-term health outcomes. In addition, a growing body of research highlights the importance of immunometabolism, the metabolism of immune cells, in the pathogenesis of obesity, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Although the effects of maternal obesity on offspring health have been well documented in both epidemiological studies and preclinical models, its influence on the developing immune system and immunometabolic pathways is only beginning to be revealed. In this review, we explore the metabolic and inflammatory dimensions of developmental programming and discuss how an adverse maternal environment may shape the offspring’s immunometabolic landscape.
Alharithi et al. (2026) studied this question.