Malnutrition during pregnancy may affect the health of future generations

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-05/cp-mdp042514.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 1-May-2014

Contact: Mary Beth O'Leary
Cell Press
Malnutrition during pregnancy may affect the health of future generations

New research reveals how environmental factors in the womb can predispose not only the mother's own offspring but also the grandoffspring to metabolic disorders like liver disease. Researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism found for pregnant mice that are malnourished—experiencing a 50% caloric restriction during the last week of pregnancy—that their offspring are at first growth restricted and have low birth weight but then go on to become obese and diabetic as they age. Strikingly, in a domino effect, the offspring of the growth-restricted males also inherit the predisposition to metabolic abnormalities.

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