Figure 1.

Experimental protocol for studying the effects of maternal periconceptional and postweaning diets on offspring. Female C57BL/6J F0 mice were fed a high-fat (HFD, blue bars) or a control (CD, black bars) diet. After 2 months, a subset of HFD mice was assigned to CD for the next 2 months in order to induce a weight loss (WL group). The remaining mice stayed on HFD to induce a chronic obesity (OB group). Control mice (CTRL) received CD for the 4 months. Females were mated and remained on their experimental diets through pregnancy and lactation. At weaning, male and female offspring were randomly assigned onto CD or HFD: 6 F1 groups were thus obtained. All mice were monitored for body weight and food intake. F0 were sacrificed one week after weaning and F1 were sacrificed at 6 months of age. The schedule of blood collection (leptin and cholesterol measures), metabolic (oral glucose tolerance test, OGTT) and olfactory behavioural tests (“hidden cookie”, “habituation/dishabituation”, “food odour preference” tests and electro-olfactogram, EOG) is indicated. n, individual number per group; w, the week of age; m, the month of age; PND, post-natal day.