Clear evidence is emerging about the importance of improving maternal nutrition for preventing chronic later-life disease in children - before they have children of their own.Building a sturdy baby seems to depend on good nutrition for the mother throughout her life.An ambitious study funded by the UK Welhome Trust and co-ordinated by Dr. Ranjan Yajnik at the King Edward Memorial Hospital and Research Centre in Pune and Dr. Caroline Fall at the Medical Research Council's Environmental Epidemiology Unit in Southampton UK, is exploring the impact a mother's nutrition may have on the development of diabetes, blood pressure and coronary heart disease in the offspring when they reach adulthood.