In the recent study researchers found that diet of mother during pregnancy can alter DNA of her baby and raised the risk of obesity in later life. What the mother ate could affect a process known as epigenetic change, which could escort baby be inclined to lay down more fat.
In the study, conducted by researchers from the University of Southampton, they calculated epigenetic changes in nearly three hundred children at the time of birth. They showed that these changes robustly envisaged the degree of obesity at the age of six to nine. The research team was surprised to see the size of the effect.
The calculation of the epigenetic change at the time of birth allowed the researchers to envisage twenty-five percent of this variation. The epigenetic changes, which alter the function of DNA without changing the actual sequence of DNA inherited from the mother and father, can also manipulate how a person react to lifestyle aspects like such diet or exercise for many years to come.
According to study leader Prof Keith Godfrey, they have shown for the first time that vulnerability to obesity cannot simply be accredited to the combination of genes and lifestyle, but can be stimulated by influences in development of a baby in the womb, counting what the mother ate.
The nutrition of a mother when pregnant can cause significant epigenetic alterations, which contribute to risk of her offspring’s obesity during childhood. This study points out that procedures to prevent childhood obesity should be targeted on improving a mother’s nutrition and her baby’s development in the womb. New epigenetic measurements might prove useful in monitoring the health of the child, added Prof Godfrey.
This study offers convincing proof that epigenetic changes, as a minimum in part, explain the connection between a poor start to life and later disease risk. It reinforces the case for all women of reproductive age having better access to nutritional, education and lifestyle support, explained Prof Mark Hanson from the British Heart Foundation
It will improve the health of the next generation and will help to diminish the risk of the conditions such as diabetes and heart diseases, which often follow obesity, added Prof Hanson.