Mother's Diet During Pregnancy Affects Child's Facial Features: Study

A study published in the journal Nature Communications has claimed that the diet consumed by the mother may be strongly connected to how her offspring looks. The study, published on March 26, pointed out that the protein level in the maternal murine diet changes the facial appearance of the offspring via mTORC1 signalling.

mTORC1 is a protein complex that functions as a nutrient, energy, and redox sensor and controls protein synthesis. In an interview with a portal, the authors of this research said that the mTORC1 genes directly influence the craniofacial shape of the embryos. Craniofacial is a medical term related to the skull and face bones. The researchers have discovered that high-protein diets in mothers led to stronger, sharper jawlines and bigger noses in children. Meanwhile, a low-protein diet led to slimmer and pointier features in the offspring.

To conduct this research, the researchers observed the pregnant behaviours in the pregnant mice and the zebrafish. The scientific name of zebrafish is Danio rerio and belongs to the minnow family, Cyprinidae. The pregnant mice and the zebrafish were genetically manipulated and fed diets varying in nutrition level.

In the past, many studies have been conducted that linked the mother’s diet to the health outcomes of the children. Researchers from the University of South Australia concluded that boys born to obese mothers are likely to be overweight at birth. They are also at high risk of developing metabolic complications in later life. These complications include diabetes and fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease is a condition in which fat builds up in your liver. There are two main types of this disease:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) Alcoholic fatty liver disease, also called alcoholic steatohepatitis.

The research team discovered that male foetuses of obese pregnant women often produce an excess of androgens- sex hormones. In the case of males, these sex hormones are called testosterone, which impacts developmental characteristics like bone density and muscle growth in the males. In unborn boys of overweight mothers, the male sex hormones in the liver grow more rapidly due to the fetal liver-specific androgen signalling that occurs during gestation.