Do men pass on obesity genes?

| 13 January 2016
minute reading time

Romain Barrès’ team at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found marked differences in the sperm from 13 lean and 10 moderately obese men. They discovered a pattern of genetic markers in the sperm of the obese men that are involved in the control of genes associated with appetite and brain development. These patterns were not present in the sperm of lean men.

Most research into how obesity passes between generations has focused on mothers and their diet before or during pregnancy. This new study suggests that dad’s health may also be important.

Susan Ozanne at the University of Cambridge is quoted in Susan Ozanne at the University of Cambridge, is quoted in New Scientist as saying: “The results add to the body of evidence that we are not just products of ‘what our mothers ate’, but also ‘what our fathers ate’”.

Would-be parents should aim to be as healthy as possible at the time of conception. If you want to shed a few pounds see our fabulous 5:2 Vegan Style guide which explains why weight loss is fast on this diet and how to keep the weight off.

About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
I joined Viva! as a health campaigner in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. My scientific training helped me research and write numerous reports, guides and fact sheets for Viva! including Meat the Truth, Fish-Free for Life, One in Nine (breast cancer and diet) and the substantial report on the detrimental health effects of consuming dairy; White Lies. This accompanied Viva!’s report The Dark Side of Dairy which spelt out the inherent cruelty of dairy farming. We were the first UK group to take on the dairy industry in this way, and many of our supporters go vegan after reading these reports.

View author page | View staff profile

Scroll up