Development of an early life risk stratification tool to facilitate primary prevention of the metabolic syndrome by infant nutritional intervention

This thesis describes the development of a risk stratification tool to identify during early life those individuals at high risk of adult metabolic syndrome. Measures of fetal growth adequacy did not adequately stratify an individual's risk. A genomic risk score approach was developed, which adequately separates individuals into risk categories such that high risk individuals could be targeted for early life primary preventive interventions. Exclusive breastfeeding was found to reduce the risk of adult metabolic disease, particularly in high risk individuals, demonstrating that early life nutritional intervention is a feasible method of primary prevention of the metabolic syndrome.