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Can stress during pregnancy erase the benefits of exercise ?
29 avril 2026
By Elodie Vaz | Published on April 29, 2026 | 4 min readPregnancy is a key period of “developmental programming,” during which the maternal environment can have lasting effects on a child’s health. It is already known that physical activity during pregnancy improves the offspring’s metabolism, notably by reducing the risk of obesity and energy balance disorders. Conversely, prenatal stress is susp
By Elodie Vaz | Published on April 29,
2026 | 4 min read
Pregnancy is a key period of “developmental programming,” during which the maternal environment can have lasting effects on a child’s health. It is already known that physical activity during pregnancy improves the offspring’s metabolism, notably by reducing the risk of obesity and energy balance disorders. Conversely, prenatal stress is suspected to disrupt this programming by altering the hormonal and metabolic signals transmitted to the fetus. A new study published on April 22 in The FASEB Journal suggests that these two factors interact: in mice, maternal stress may diminish the metabolic benefits of exercise for the offspring, particularly in males.
Pregnancy is a key period of “developmental programming,” during which the maternal environment can have lasting effects on a child’s health. It is already known that physical activity during pregnancy improves the offspring’s metabolism, notably by reducing the risk of obesity and energy balance disorders. Conversely, prenatal stress is suspected to disrupt this programming by altering the hormonal and metabolic signals transmitted to the fetus. A new study published on April 22 in The FASEB Journal suggests that these two factors interact: in mice, maternal stress may diminish the metabolic benefits of exercise for the offspring, particularly in males.
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Scientific reference
Effets distincts du stress maternel et de l’exercice sur la santé métabolique de la descendance
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