Here's an intersting article from the London Times:
"Want to be thin, enjoy a long and happy life untouched by dementia, with a low risk of depression, cancer and arthritis, and have lots of children? The good news is that medical researchers may have found the secret of such a healthy, successful life. The bad news is that the blueprint was laid down during the nine months before you were born"
The article goes on to say that there's a debate about how strong the effects of "foetal origins of disease" are. The basic principle is that the foetus adapts to the nutritional environment of the womb (no mention of psychological environement) under the assumption that this will be the nutritional environment later. If there is a match between these two then the person will have the resources to cope with its environment, but if the womb environment is differnt from the subsequent environment then problems occur.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2682-2078125,00.html
