High-fat diet in pregnancy may alter baby’s brain
New study suggests that a high-fat diet during pregnancy can change the structure of baby's brain and increase risk of obesity in its later life.
Animal study conducted by researchers at Yale School of Medicine in the United States unraveled prenatal eating habits could alter baby’s developing brain.
The experiments on mice demonstrated that mothers on a high-fat diet had pups with an altered hypothalamus, a part of the brain important for regulating metabolism.
The study even unveiled that babies of mouse with fatty diet were more likely to become overweight and develop type 2 diabetes than the pups of mothers given a normal diet, according to the research report published in the journal Cell.
The research team claimed that the study could explain why the children of obese parents are more likely to become grossly overweight.
"We definitely believe these are fundamental biological processes also affecting humans and influencing how children may eventually become obese," said Professor Tamas Horvath, from Yale School of Medicine.
A healthy diet during pregnancy may help break the cycle of obese parents having obese children, Horvath also explained.
“Twenty years of research shows nutrition in early life has lasting effects on cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis and some cancers. It's extremely well established," commented by Dr Graham Burdge from University of Southampton.
Source: presstv.com
