• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, August 29, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Pregnant women’s high-fat, high-sugar diets may affect future generations

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 16, 2016
in Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

pregnant-775036_960_720

New research suggests that mothers who eat high-fat, high-sugar diets can predispose multiple generations to metabolic problems, even if their offspring consume healthy diets.

While other studies have linked a woman’s health in pregnancy to her child’s weight later in life, a mouse study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 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, increasing 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,” said Kelle H. Moley, MD, the School of Medicine’s James P. Crane Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and senior author of the study. “This is particularly important because more than two-thirds of reproductive-age women in the United States are overweight or obese.”

The study is published online June 16 in the journal Cell Reports.

The research shows that a mother’s obesity – and its associated metabolic problems – can be inherited through mitochondrial DNA present in the unfertilized oocyte, or egg. Mitochondria often are referred to as the powerhouses of cells because they supply energy for metabolism and other biochemical processes. 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,” Moley said. “Importantly, 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, the researchers fed mice a high-fat, high-sugar diet comprised of about 60 percent fat and 20 percent sugar. “This mimics more of the Western diet,” Moley said. “Basically, it’s 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. Researchers found abnormal mitochondria in muscle and skeletal tissue of the mice.

“It’s 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,” Moley said.

More research is needed to determine if a consistent diet low in fat and sugar, as well as regular exercise, may reverse genetic metabolic abnormalities.

“In any case, eating nutritiously is critical,” Moley said. “Over the decades, our diets have worsened, in large part due to processed foods and fast foods. We’re seeing the effects in the current obesity crisis. Research, including this study, points to poor maternal nutrition and a predisposition to obesity.”

###

Media Contact

Diane Duke Williams
[email protected]
314-286-0111
@WUSTLnews

Home

The post Pregnant women’s high-fat, high-sugar diets may affect future generations appeared first on Scienmag.

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Mitophagy and Proteasomal Degradation Defend Postnatal Muscle Health

August 29, 2025

Transplant Policies: Undocumented Immigrants vs. Tourists

August 29, 2025

Revolutionizing Primary Care with Generative AI Solutions

August 29, 2025

Enhanced Outcomes with Revised Oocyte Warming Protocol

August 29, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    150 shares
    Share 60 Tweet 38
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    116 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    82 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Mitophagy and Proteasomal Degradation Defend Postnatal Muscle Health

Transplant Policies: Undocumented Immigrants vs. Tourists

Revolutionizing Primary Care with Generative AI Solutions

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.