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Woman’s obesity may cause metabolic problems for multiple generations, says study
Posted on: 22/Jun/2016 10:03:31 AM
A new study that was published in the journal Cell Reports says that women who are obese and eat high-fat, high-sugar diets can cause multiple generations to develop metabolic problems, even if the offspring consume healthy diets. The study was conducted by researchers at the Washington University.
The mouse study is the first to indicate that even before becoming pregnant, a woman`s obesity can cause genetic abnormalities that subsequently are passed through the female bloodline to at least three generations.
Speaking about this, the researchers say, This increases the risk of obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Our findings indicate that a mother`s obesity can impair the health of later generations.
According to the research, a mother’s obesity and its associated metabolic problems can be inherited through mitochondrial DNA present in the unfertilised oocyte, or egg. Mitochondria often are referred to as the powerhouses of cells because they supply energy for metabolism and other biochemical processes.
Say the researchers, These cellular structures have their own sets of genes, inherited only from mothers, not fathers. Our data are the first to show that pregnant mouse mothers with metabolic syndrome can transmit dysfunctional mitochondria through the female bloodline to three generations. Our study indicates oocytes - or mothers` eggs - may carry information that programs mitochondrial dysfunction throughout the entire organism. From six weeks prior to conception until weaning, researchers fed mice a high-fat, high-sugar diet comprised of about 60 per cent fat and 20 per cent sugar. This mimics more of the Western diet. Basically, it is like eating fast food every day. Offspring then were fed a controlled diet of standard rodent chow, which is high in protein and low in fat and sugar. Despite the healthy diet, the pups, grand pups and great-grand pups developed insulin resistance and other metabolic problems. It is important to note that in humans, in which the diets of children closely mirror those of their parents, the effects of maternal metabolic syndrome may be greater than in our mouse model.
