By Stephen Beech via SWNS
A dad’s diet plays a key role in their children’s health – before they’re even conceived, suggests a new study.
Researchers found that what a father eats may shape the anxiety of his sons and the metabolic health of his daughters.
The study of mice showed that the nutrient balance in the diet of males affects the level of anxiety-like behavior of sons as well as the metabolism of daughters.
Scientists say their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, provide a major step towards understanding how the effect of diet can be transmitted from one generation to the next via a father’s sperm.
They believe It could ultimately lead to dietary guidelines for fathers-to-be, with the goal of lowering the risk of metabolic disease and mood disorders in the next generation.
Researchers have already discovered that a mouse father’s diet can have an impact not only on his own reproductive health but also on that of his offspring.
Over- or under-feeding male mice can affect their offspring’s metabolism and behavior, as well as their risk of cancer.
However, it was not clearly understood if the makeup of a male mouse’s diet before conception had an impact on the well-being of their children.
An international team of researchers fed male mice one of 10 diets differing in the proportions of protein, fats, and carbohydrates at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre in Australia.
The mice were allowed to mate with females reared on a standard diet.
Researchers then studied the behavior and physiology of the resulting pups.
They discovered that male mice fed low protein and high carb diets were more likely to have male offspring with higher levels of anxiety, as measured by time spent in the safety zones of their maze.
The team also found that male mice that were fed high-fat diets were more likely to have daughters with higher levels of body fat and markers of metabolic disease.
Study co-senior author Professor Romain Barrès, of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, said: “Our study shows that the type of diet eaten before conception can program specific characteristics of the next generation.”
Co-senior author Professor Stephen Simpson, of the University of Sydney, said: “It is extraordinary that by titrating mixtures of protein, fat and carbs in the father’s diet, we could influence specific features of his sons and daughters’ health and behavior.
“There is some important biology at play here,”
The researchers also observed that males on a low-protein diet also ate more food overall.
However, they were able to determine that both the amount of calories, and the macronutrient composition of the males’ diets, influenced the health of their offspring.
Professor Barrès said: “Our study shows that it’s not just eating too much or too little, but the composition of the diet that can have an impact on future children.”
He added: “We think our study is a step towards establishing dietary guidelines for fathers-to-be, with the ultimate goal of lowering the risk of metabolic disease and mood disorders in the next generation.”
