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Fat fathers-to-be could end up with overweight daughters who are at greater risk of diabetes and premature ageing, new research warns.A father's diet, weight and health at the time of conception affects the baby’s genes and health.
The link is most pronounced in baby girls.
Overweight fathers-to-be could end up with fat daughters who are at greater risk of diabetes and premature ageing, new research suggests
The impact of a mother's health on her children has been well documented but the effect of the health of fathers is new.
The study found that if male rats ate a high fat diet, had diabetes, and were obese, their offspring had altered gene functions in the fat and pancreas.
Two groups of male rats, one diabetic and on a high fat diet, and the other thin and on a normal diet, mated with thin female rats.
Researchers looked at their female offspring and found that the rats with obese fathers had trouble breaking down glucose, even while on a healthy diet.
Specifically, they showed gene function changes in the pancreatic islets, which are responsible for making insulin to control the blood glucose and fat tissue.
This altered gene function may increase the risk of future obesity and premature ageing.
A father's diet, weight and health at the time of conception affects the baby's genes and health. The link is most pronounced in girls
Other genes that were different were those that have been linked to premature ageing, cancer and chronic degenerative diseases.
Dr Margaret Morris, a researcher for the Pharmacology School of Medical Sciences at the University of New South Wales in Sydney said: ‘While scientists have focused on how the maternal diet affects children's health, this study is part of exciting new research exploring the impact of paternal diet on offspring risk of obesity.
‘The fact that similar gene markers were affected in pancreas and fat tissue tells us that some of the same pathways are being influenced, possibly from the earliest stages of life.
‘It will be important to follow up these findings, and to learn more about when and how to intervene to reduce the impact of poor paternal metabolic health on offspring.’
Gerald Weissmann, editor of The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal added: ‘For a long time, we've known that the nutrition and health status of women who are pregnant or who want to get pregnant is critical to the health of her offspring, and we've also suspected that the same is true for fathers to a lesser degree.
‘This report is the first step in understanding exactly how the nutrition and health of fathers affects his children, for better or worse.’
The research was published in the FASEB Journal.
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