If a mother is obese or overweight, the child born from such a pregnancy has a greater risk of developing fatty liver disease in their 20s, finds a new study.
Researchers from Europe have found evidence showing how conditions in the womb may play a major role in the risk of developing the condition. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (or NAFLD) can be caused by obesity and later turn into more critical health problems like liver cancer. NAFLD has also been linked to a higher susceptibility to developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The team will be presenting their findings at the International Liver Congress 2021 convened by the European Association for the Study of the Liver. The same study, which assessed liver scans from 2,961 England-born participants, also discovered an increased risk associated with obese fathers but the increase was much smaller than for overweight mums.
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Dr Kushala Abeysekera from the study cautioned that their work is not about blaming mothers but rather highlights the impact of how an obesogenic environment can be passed down through generations.