Stuff.co.nz – Olivia Wannan
“Growing infant brains are affected by their pregnant mothers’ obesity, with effects that can last for life, research shows. This altered neural development is completely separate from the DNA passed down from mother to child, say the research team behind the new findings at the University of Otago. Associate professor Christine Jasoni looks at brain development in baby mice to discover exactly what happens in an obese mother’s pregnancy to bring about the life-long adverse changes. Half the pregnant mice were fed a high-fat diet for six weeks prior to and during gestation, “very similar to a McDonald’s Big Mac and fries kind of diet”, Jasoni said…As the pregnancies progressed, Jasoni’s team looked very closely at the brains of the mice foetuses. They discovered the nerves in the babies’ brains connect differently if their mothers are on the high-fat diet.”(more)