Parents' diets can shape the health of their future offspring

A research team led by Monash University has found that expectant mothers who eat a high-fibre diet can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in their offspring, revealing a powerful link between a mother’s diet during pregnancy and her child’s long-term heart health. Their work has been published in the journal Circulation Research.

“Dietary fibre, which is found in foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains, is well-known for its health benefits,” said lead researcher Professor Francine Marques, from the Monash School of Biological Sciences.

“Our research shows that its impact extends beyond the mother, and can shape the development of her child’s heart.”

The research team found that a high-fibre diet in pregnant mice led to a healthier gut and gut microbiome in both mothers and their offspring; lower levels of inflammation in the heart of the offspring; improved heart function in offspring exposed to high blood pressure; and decreased cardiac fibrosis (scarring) in the heart of the offspring. The work also shed light on how fibre exerts its protective effects across generations, Marques noted.

“Fibre promotes the production of beneficial molecules called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the gut,” Marques explained.

“These SCFAs travel through the mother’s bloodstream and cross the placenta during development, where they can influence gene activity in the heart, leading to healthier heart development.”

While the study was conducted on mice, Marques said the findings have significant implications for human health, suggesting that a simple dietary change during pregnancy could have lifelong benefits for children. She said the work adds to the growing body of evidence highlighting the importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy, with the researchers planning to continue exploring the intricate relationship between maternal diet, gut health and cardiovascular disease.

And it’s not just expectant mothers who should watch their diet, with a separate study from the international GECKO consortium finding that the macronutrient balance in the diet of male mice affects the level of anxiety-like behaviour of their future sons and the metabolic health of their future daughters. Their results, published in the journal Nature Communications, provide a step towards understanding how the effect of diet can transmit from one generation to the next via a father’s sperm.

Scientists had already discovered that over- or under-feeding male mice can affect their offspring’s metabolism and behaviour, as well as their risk of cancer. What is less understood is whether there are diverse types of health impacts on the health of offspring, depending on the type and composition of the diet of male mice before conception. This was the starting point for the GECKO consortium, with lead investigators in Copenhagen, Sydney and Chicago.

At The University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, researchers fed male mice one of 10 diets differing in the proportions of protein, fats and carbohydrates, then allowed them to mate with females reared on a standard diet. The behaviour and physiology of the resulting pups were then studied.

The scientists found that male mice fed low-protein and high-carbohydrate diets were more likely to have male offspring with higher levels of anxiety, as measured by time spent in the safety zones of their maze. They also found that male mice that were fed high-fat diets were more likely to have daughters with higher levels of body fat and markers of metabolic disease.

“Our study shows that the type of diet eaten before conception can program specific characteristics of the next generation,” said co-senior author and leader of the GECKO consortium Professor Romain Barrès, from the University of Copenhagen and Université Côte d’Azur.

“It is extraordinary that by titrating mixtures of protein, fat and carbs in the father’s diet we could influence specific features of his sons’ and daughters’ health and behaviour. There is some important biology at play here,” added Professor Stephen Simpson, co-senior author and Academic Director of the Charles Perkins Centre.

The team also observed that males on a low-protein diet ate more food overall. However, thanks to the study design, they could determine that both the amount of calories, and the macronutrient composition of the males’ diets, influenced the health of their offspring.

The mouse work is part of a broader series of studies within the GECKO consortium, involving humans and other mammals at partner institutions. Barrès described the study as “a step towards establishing dietary guidelines for fathers-to-be, with the ultimate goal of lowering the risk of metabolic disease and mood disorders in the next generation”.

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