It is well accepted that in utero exposure to maternal diet can program offspring body composition and susceptibility to disease in later life. While animal studies have focused primarily on the effects of either maternal under-nutrition (e.g., calorie or protein restriction), or over-feeding of high fat diets, little is known about the effects of maternal macronutrient balance (i.e., the proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrate in the diet) in modulating offspring health. An important model called protein leverage explains that in many animals, including humans, protein is prioritised over carbohydrates and fats when confined to imbalanced diets. This tight, innate regulation of protein intake, influenced by dynamic protein targets, can result in the overconsumption of fats and carbohydrates when given protein-poor diets. However, the question remains as to when and how this strong regulation is programmed in an individual. We hypothesise that protein targets may be determined in utero and through early life programming. Using a mouse model, we investigate how maternal protein to carbohydrate (P:C) balance influences offspring protein-specific appetite and metabolic health. We show that offspring from dams fed high P:C diets throughout gestation and lactation have greater protein targets and increased body weights in early life, a result consistent across sexes. We also show that these greater protein targets increase offspring food intake when placed on no-choice diets, resulting in an overall increase in body weight and fat mass. The combination of a high protein maternal diet and a Western diet in adulthood is revealed to further exacerbate this obese phenotype. This work highlights the massive implications of early life programming on later life metabolism. It could aid in explaining known patterns in the epidemiology of obesity and will provide fundamental new understanding of the ways in which maternal nutrition shapes offspring health.