New professor is focused on breaking obesity cycle

Liggins Institute-based paediatric endocrinologist Paul Hofman was awarded a Personal Chair in the University of Auckland’s 2013 academic promotions round.

Professor Hofman is a paediatrician who specialises in treating children with hormone related conditions that affect their growth, development and metabolism. A former Director of Paediatric Endocrinology at Auckland’s Starship Children’s Hospital, he is Director of the Liggins Institute’s Paykel Clinical Research Unit where he leads clinical research investigating how factors, such as nutrition and exercise, during pregnancy and infancy affect children’s long-term health. He is also a principal investigator and member of the Centre of Research Excellence Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development.

Professor Hofman is concerned about the number of children he sees in his clinics who are severely overweight and showing early signs of diabetes. Childhood obesity is a comparatively recent phenomenon which he says has developed exponentially over the last 30-40 years to reach the current “epidemic” proportions.

“Our current patterns of eating and exercise are largely to blame,” he says. “However many people do not realise that poor lifestyle choices during adulthood affect not only their own health and waistlines but those of their unborn children.

“Women who are overweight during pregnancy not only risk complications such as gestational diabetes and difficult deliveries but are likely to over-supply nutrients to their fetus, leading to a large baby and perpetuating a cycle of obesity through overweight child, adolescent and parent.”

A number of studies at the Liggins Institute emphasise the need for people to be in good health and to break harmful habits well before they start their families. However Hofman says it is never too late to make changes which will have lasting benefits.

Previous research by Hofman’s team showed that moderate exercise in pregnancy by mothers of normal weight results in a small reduction in maternal weight gain and offspring birth weight without compromising the health of mother or baby. He is now supervising a research programme targeting overweight, pregnant women to see if regular, supervised exercise will translate into similar benefits for them and their babies.

So far around 60 women have been involved in the study and while it is too early to analyse results, participants have been very enthusiastic about the programme and highly motivated to continue exercising after their babies are born.

The team hopes to finish recruiting by March and would like to hear from women, or lead maternity carers of women, who may be eligible to take part in the trial.
Visit the IMPROVE study page eligibility criteria and further information.

Professor Hofman’s career includes a number of distinguished achievements in medical education and clinical practice and research. He is an active contributor to the discipline of paediatric endocrinology internationally having just completed a term as President of the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group and this year assumes the presidency of the Asia Pacific Paediatric Endocrine Society which represents around 60% of the world’s children.

Congratulating Professor Hofman on his achievement, Liggins Director Professor Wayne Cutfield said “Promotion to professor is the pinnacle of academic achievement and reflects Paul’s international reputation as a world class researcher in the field of metabolism and developmental programming.”

Professor Hofman’s promotion adds to the Liggins Institute’s academic strength, international research leadership and reputation bringing the total number of professorial appointments to eight; more than 20% of its academic staff.