Study: Parents' diet can prevent obesity in their offspring

A study has found that parents can prevent the growing problem of childhood obesity by following a simple dietary measure.

A father's diet and drinking habits can affect his child's health, so according to the new study, researchers suggest that fathers take fish oil supplements daily to reduce the risk of obesity in their offspring, although some researchers have questioned the results of this study.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of young people aged 5 to 19 who are obese has risen from 31 million in 1990 to 160 million in 2022. This excess weight can increase the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol and can also lead to low self-esteem and depression.

To see if paternal diet could affect the health of offspring, the researchers fed male mice a high-fat diet with or without added fish oil. They found that male offspring who took fish oil weighed less and showed better metabolic health than offspring whose fathers did not take fish oil.

“While more human studies are needed, this discovery opens a new frontier in our understanding of how parents, beyond just genes, influence the health of their offspring,” said Dr. Latha Ramalingam, assistant professor of nutrition at Syracuse University. “Fish oil, a safe and readily available supplement, could become a powerful weapon in our fight for a healthier next generation.”

This is the first study to examine inheritance patterns exclusively in the father, the researchers say.

This study builds on previous work by the same research team, which showed the benefits of fish oil supplements in mothers to reduce the risk of obesity in children.

In the new study, which involved nearly 150 mice, researchers fed male mice a high-fat diet either with or without added fish oil. They were then mated with female mice that ate a regular, healthy, low-fat diet.

The researchers found that offspring fed a healthy, low-fat diet and fathered by males who took fish oil weighed less at 7 and 21 days of age than offspring of males who did not receive fish oil.

Additionally, the female lineage of the fish oil group showed improved metabolic health, including better glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity.

“This concept offers great potential to reshape our strategies to combat childhood obesity,” commented Dr. Ramalingam.

Researchers are now studying the potential mechanisms by which dietary changes affect sperm, with the aim of better understanding how information transfer affects the next generation.