Men born to obese mothers are more likely to develop health problems as adults: Study | Health

Men born to obese mothers are more likely to be overweight at birth and more likely to suffer from metabolic problems such as liver disease and diabetes later in life.

This is partly due to the way male hormones activate pathways in the developing liver.

This is the finding of a new study led by researchers at the University of South Australia (UniSA) that looked at the effects of maternal obesity on androgen signaling in the fetal liver.

Also read: Daughters can inherit obesity from their mothers: study

Boys of obese pregnant women emit a variety of signals activated by male hormones in the liver that encourage them to prioritize growth at the expense of health.

UniSA researcher Dr Ashley Meakin said androgens give men their masculine characteristics and are important for their development, but too much of them could only cause male fetuses to become too large and cause problems at birth. It also states that it affects liver function in adulthood.

Girls exposed to excess testosterone through obese pregnancies are wired to switch off androgen pathways in their livers, which limits fetal growth and lowers the risk of metabolic disorders in adulthood. To do.

“We know that there are sex differences in late-life metabolic disorders depending on maternal obesity,” says Dr. Meakin.

“If the mother was obese during pregnancy and the birth weight was more than 4 kg (9 lbs 15 oz), the man is more likely to develop non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes as an adult.

“We’re genetically hardwired to favor androgens because they support the development of male characteristics, including size, but too much androgen is bad.”

Professor Janna Morrison, lead author of the study and head of UniSA’s Adult Health Research Group, said it was imperative that women receive adequate nutrition during pregnancy to ensure optimal conditions for fetal development. He says it’s a balance.

“There is also a risk of malnutrition in the offspring during pregnancy,” she says. “If you’re too small, too big, born too early, or if you’re male, you’re more susceptible to negative effects later in life. You need a Goldilocks pregnancy. You have to be born at the right time, with the right size.” .”

Professor Morrison says unless society changes its approach to nutrition, it will be an uphill battle to reduce obesity and its associated health problems from in utero to adulthood.

“As a society, we need to urgently address obesity. If children are taught about the importance of healthy eating early on, then adults, including during pregnancy, where correct nutrition is critical, should be taught about the importance of healthy eating.” This will continue until the end of the term.”

In the meantime, Dr. Meakin says supplements that address nutritional imbalances during pregnancy may provide the fetus with the best chance for optimal development.

The hepatic androgen signaling study, recently published in Life Sciences, is one in a series of studies by Professor Morrison and colleagues investigating the effects of maternal under- and over-nutrition on the placenta, heart, lungs and liver.

This article has been published from a news agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the heading has changed.