Introduction

The prevalence for childhood overweight and obesity increased steadily in the past decades. Childhood obesity was defined as a disease by the World Health Organization [25] and by the American Medical Association (2013) [7] and is listed in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems in (ICD). In 2016 over 340 million children and adolescents, aged 5–19 were overweight or obese and current estimates suggest approximately 38 million children under the age of 5 as overweight or obese [25]. Amongst genetic factors and environmental influences, a variety of perinatal risk factors individually or in combination contributes to the development of infant obesity. Especially maternal pre-pregnancy obesity, excessive gestational weight gain and gestational diabetes result in pathological pregnancy conditions. Insulin resistance (IR), elevated blood glucose levels and hormonal disturbance provoke the malprogramming of infant’s energy metabolism [11].