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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 May 6.
Published in final edited form as: Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2012 Jan 10;354(1-2):74–84. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2012.01.001

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Schematic depicting the consequence of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and macrosomia on postnatal growth. There are two trajectories for fetuses that experience IUGR; one sub-group may remain underweight throughout life, while another sub-group may experience overgrowth and obesity in adulthood. The IUGR fetuses differ from normal body weight at birth babies in their response to nutrients, and the postnatal growth trajectory of the different sub-groups of IUGR fetuses depends on factors during postnatal life, as predicted by the “thrifty phenotype” hypothesis. Research indicates that the mechanisms underlying obesity in macrosomic and IUGR individuals are different.