In this new series of NNI Bites, Big Learnings, we are featuring episodes covering the NNI & WNSC Workshop 103. In this episode, Professor Raanan Shamir interviews Dr. Natália Ferré about early metabolic programming and the role of dietary protein in obesity prevention. Dr. Ferré explains that the early protein hypothesis suggests higher protein intake in the first months of life is linked to rapid growth and later obesity risk — a concept first demonstrated in the CHOP study, where infants consuming lower-protein formula showed significantly reduced obesity risk by six years of age. She also shares early findings from the ToMI study, which is exploring whether this critical intervention window can be extended into the second year of life, with further analyses on long-term outcomes, epigenetics, and metabolomics still underway.
Author(s):
Raanan Shamir, Natàlia Ferré Pallàs
