Health
A mother's poor diet before conceiving jeopardizes the health of her unborn child. Such children, whose mothers were malnourished, may develop type 2 diabetes and obesity, scientists say.
Mice that were fed a low-protein diet for 10 weeks before conception, but were well nourished during pregnancy, gave birth to low-birth weight offspring, but after the end of breastfeeding, she rapidly gained weight and also had increased insulin sensitivity.
In humans, the situation is exactly the same as in rodents when mothers do not eat well during pregnancy. Children are born with low birth weight, but as a result, they are at significantly increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and diseases of the cardiovascular system.
“If we prove that it is as important for humans to eat right before conception as it is for mice, women will begin to monitor their diet not only during pregnancy, but also before pregnancy,” says the director research by Anete Dudele from Aarhus University, Denmark.
Cardiovascular diseases are often associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Scientists plan to conduct a number of further studies to find out how important it is for a person to eat right before conception so that future offspring do not experience serious health problems.