The immediate negative effects of environmental or man-made disasters are usually highly noticeable and easily quantified. However, such events have also important long-lasting effects for those who experience them, since as early as in utero. This column explores how several co-occurring severe in-utero shocks during the Dutch Hunger Winter at the end of WWII affected adolescence health. Cohorts exposed since early gestation had higher BMI and were more likely to be obese at age 18, partly due to warfare exposure and reduced protein intake.