Genetic markers found in a man’s sperm could influence his children’s appetites, suggesting that his seed could play a role in determining if his sons or daughters have a predisposition to obesity, according to research published in the latest edition of the journal Cell Metabolism.
As part of the study, Romain Barrès, an associate professor from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research in Copenhagen, Denmark and his colleagues compared the sperm cells of 13 lean men and 10 obese men, and found that they possessed different epigenetic markers that could influence the appetites of their offspring.
In a statement, Barrès said that his team “identified the molecular carrier in human gametes” that can control the expression of genes in offspring, thus potentially affecting their health. The study authors found slight differences in RNA expressions and DNA methylation patterns which reveal that weight loss can alter the epigenetic information men carry in their sperm cells.
What this means, they explain, is that the genetic material transmitted through a father’s sperm could potentially alter the development of a future embryo and could ultimately shape the child’s physiology. In the context of obesity, it means that fathers who lose weight by eating better and exercising could influence the eating behaviors of the next generation.
Findings emphasize the importance of pre-conception health in dads
As co-lead author Dr. Ida Donkin explained, “We know that children born to obese fathers are predisposed to developing obesity later in life, regardless of their mother’s weight.” The findings of this new study, she added, provide “another critical piece of information that informs us about the very real need to look at the pre-conception health of fathers.”
“The study raises awareness about the importance of lifestyle factors, particularly our diet, prior to conception,” co-first author Soetkin Versteyhe said. “The way we eat and our level of physical activity before we conceive may be important to our future children’s health and development.”
While the research is preliminary, its findings show that our gametes carry more than just genetic information as previously believed, the authors explained. Specific traits long thought to be fixed could be altered after all, and the way in which we live our lives may have consequences when it comes to the overall well-being of our children and grandchildren, the researchers reported.
“We did not expect to see such important changes in epigenetic information due to environmental pressure,” noted Barrès. “Discovering that lifestyle and environmental factors, such as a person’s nutritional state, can shape the information in our gametes and thereby modify the eating behavior of the next generation is, to my mind, an important find.”
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