A new study conducted on mice and published in the scientific journal “Nature Communications” shows that the father’s diet affects the anxious behavior of his future sons as well as the metabolic health of his daughters.
From generation to generation
This study conducted by an international team of researchers is an important step towards understanding how the effect of diet is “transmitted” from generation to generation through sperm. And it may lay the groundwork for new dietary guidelines for expectant fathers to reduce the chances of passing on metabolic diseases and mood disorders to their children.
The unanswered question
Scientists already knew through studies that the diet of the male mouse has an effect not only on his own reproductive health but also on that of his offspring. They also discovered that the diet of adult male mice can affect the metabolism and behavior of their offspring as well as their lifetime risk of developing cancer. What they didn’t know is whether the different types of diet the male mice ate before conception affected the health of their offspring.
This unknown parameter was also the starting point for the researchers of the GECKO consortium led by scientists in Copenhagen, Sydney and Chicago.
The study with the 10 types of nutrition
At the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Center in Australia, researchers put male mice on one of 10 different diets based on differences in protein, fat and carbohydrate levels. The males were then mated with females that had been fed a conventional diet. When their young were born, scientists studied their behavior and physiology.
Cons: little protein, lots of fat
As it turned out, male mice fed a “poor” protein and “rich” carb diet were more likely to have male offspring with higher levels of anxiety (as measured by the time they spent in the safety zones of their maze). The study also showed that male mice fed a high-fat diet were more likely to have daughters with high levels of body fat and elevated markers of metabolic disease.
“Our study shows that the type of diet followed before conception can shape specific characteristics
next generation” said the head of the GECKO consortium and one of the main authors of the study, professor of the University of Copenhagen and the University of Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, Romain Bares.
Offspring health and behavior
The director of the Charles Perkins Center at the University of Sydney, also one of the main authors of the study Steven Simpson noted for his part that “it is striking that when we change the mix of protein, fat and carbohydrates in the father’s diet we can affect specific characteristics of health and behavior to both his sons and daughters. There is a very important biological background here.”
The number of calories
The research team also noticed that males on a protein-poor diet consumed more food overall. However, it was determined that the number of calories also plays a role in the health of the offspring in addition to the composition of the male’s diet.
“Our study shows that it’s not just whether the males eat a lot or a little, but also the composition of their diet when it comes to the effect on their offspring,” stressed Professor Bares.
It should be noted that this particular study in mice is part of a larger research program of the consortium
GECKO which also includes research on humans and other mammals.
Towards the issuance of nutritional guidelines
“We believe that this study is a step towards issuing nutritional guidelines for future fathers with the ultimate goal of reducing the risk of metabolic and mood disorders in the next generation,” concluded Dr. Bares.
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