Study reveals that fetuses lacking nutrition genetically adapt to poor health when born

BETHESDA, Md. You are what your mother did not eat during pregnancy.

A recently published report in the FASEB Journal, the medical journal for the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, reported that scientists from the University of Utah have found that rat fetuses receiving poor nutrition in the womb become genetically primed to be born into an environment lacking proper nutrition.

As a result of this genetic adaptation, the rats were likely to grow to smaller sizes than their normal counterparts. At the same time, they were also at higher risk for a host of such health problems throughout their lives as diabetes, growth retardation, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and neurodevelopmental delays.

“Our study emphasizes that maternal–fetal health influences multiple healthcare issues across generations,” stated Robert Lane, professor of pediatric neonatology at the University of Utah, and one of the senior researchers involved in the study. “To reduce adult diseases such as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease, we need to understand how the maternal–fetal environment influences the health of offspring.”

Although the study involved rats, the genes and cellular mechanisms involved are the same as those in humans.

“The new ‘epigenetics’ has taught us how nature is changed by nurture,” stated Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal. “The jury’s in and, yes, expectant moms really are eating for two. This study shows not only that we need to address problems such as preeclampsia during pregnancy, but also that prenatal care is far more important than anyone could have imagined a decade ago.”

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