Several studies have already shown the health risks of children born to obese mothers. These children have, among other things, a increased risk of premature death. But a new study shows that a risk also exists when it is the father who suffers from obesity. According to researchers from the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University in Washington (United States), paternal obesity affects the expression of genes in sperm, which would increase the risk of breast cancer in girls born to obese fathers.
A risk that is passed on to the next generation
In this rodent study, obese male mice and normal weight female mice produced overweight female offspring at birth. This resulted in a delay in the development of the breast tissue of this offspring, and an increase breast cancer rate.
Lead author of the study, Dr Sonia de Assis, explains: “Of course, our study was done on mice, but it summarizes well all the recent findings that have been made in humans that show that obese men have significant epigenetic alterations. in their sperm. And our study shows more specifically that these epigenetic alterations in sperm can have consequences on the risk of cancer in the next generation. “
This study was published online in the journal Nature.
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