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Women who fall pregnant while dieting are more likely to have a child that could become obese or diabetic in later life, new research suggests.

 
While the study was carried out in sheep, University of Manchester scientists suspect the findings may hold true for humans as well. The research, carried out with colleagues in New Zealand and Canada, may also have found a reason why human twins are more likely to develop type-2 diabetes in adulthood after the team studied twin lambs.

The study investigated twin pregnancies in sheep, as well the pregnancies of ewes that received less food around the time the lamb was conceived. The researchers then looked at tissues from the brains of the unborn lambs. This was to see if there were changes in the structure of the DNA that would alter genes involved in food intake and glucose levels after birth.

“We found that unborn twin lambs had changes in the structure of DNA in the region of the brain that regulates food intake and glucose that resulted in an increased chance of diabetes in adulthood,” said study lead Anne White, Professor of Endocrine Sciences.

“Our findings provide a reason why twins are more likely to get diabetes but we have also shown that mothers who don’t have enough food around the time of conception may have a child who grows up with an increased risk of obesity.” [continue reading…]