The weight and length of a newborn baby is not affected by paternal BMI and diet quality, scientists have said.
A new study has found that a mother’s dietary habits influence a newborn’s weight and length more than the father’s dietary patterns.
Obesity can increase a person’s risk of developing several health conditions, such as heart disease, kidney disease, some cancers, liver and gallbladder disease, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
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Children are 264% more likely to be obese if their parents were living with obesity before they were conceived, the study has reported.
During the trial, the team of researchers analysed 1,640 fathers and 1,640 newborns from the Finnish “Steps to Healthy Development of Children” (STEPS) study. Mothers were also assessed.
Each father was scored on their diets, with those scoring below 10 considered unhealthy and those scoring between 10 and 15 considered healthy.
Typically, 60% of the fathers consumed an unhealthy diet, while 33.5% of the mothers had poor dietary habits.
The study has revealed that paternal BMI and the father’s dietary quality score showed no correlation with either birth weight or birth length of their newborns.
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The study said: “The paternal contribution to fetal environmental exposures requires further study.
“Despite the lack of association between paternal BMI and diet, and the birth weight and length of the offspring, longitudinal follow-up could conceivably reveal associations with later growth rates and obesity or overweight in adolescence and adult life.”
The research added: “These may be mediated by epigenetic changes and other factors that disrupt the normal growth and development of various organs and body systems.”
The study has been published in the journal Nutrients.
