Research finds obese mothers passing health problems down to grandchildren

New research has shown that obese mothers stand a high chance of passing serious health problems down to their grandchildren.

A new study suggests issues linked to obesity such as heart disease and diabetes could escape the children of moderately obese mothers, but their own offspring could be at increased risk of being diagnosed with such conditions.

The study comes courtesy of scientists from the University of Edinburgh, who conducted tests on lab mice to discover how their bodies would react after being fed a normal diet. First, the group kept moderately obese female mice on a diet high in fat and sugar before and during their pregnancy.

They then went on to see how their children and grandchildren would react to receiving a much healthier diet.

While the first generation of mice were found to carry few ill effects after keeping to their stable food plan, the second generation were found to be far more vulnerable to obesity-related diseases.

New-medical.net cited comments from the study which suggested that differences in maternal weight gain during pregnancy or the consumption of certain foods pre-birth could explain the problem.

Either way, the research provides yet more reasons for obese mothers to defeat their eating issues before pregnancy, through hypnotherapy courses or otherwise.

Dr Amanda Drake, senior research fellow at the University of Edinburgh, said following up the study with a further examinations would be vital to understanding how future generations might be affected by obesity.

However, she told telegraph.co.uk these pieces of research would need to take into account genetics, environmental, social and cultural factors for health professionals to form a well-rounded argument.