Study: Father's diet can influence metabolism of kids

...Working with mice, the researchers reported in the journal Cell that paternal diet can influence the production of genes that direct metabolism in first-generation offspring, and particularly influence how they're able to process cholesterol.

The study is one of a number done recently that look at how the environment and lifestyle of a previous generation can influence the genetics of the next, going beyond traits that are known to be passed from generation to generation through mutations in DNA.

"Knowing what your parents were doing before you were conceived is turning out to be important in determining what disease factors you may be carrying," said Dr. Oliver Rando, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts and lead investigator for the study.

"Our findings suggest there are many ways that parents can tell their children things."

Rando and his colleagues fed two groups of male mice different diets — one a low-protein diet, the other standard chow; while all the females in the test got the standard diet before breeding started.

They found that the offspring of the male mice fed the low-protein diet showed a marked increase in genes responsible for blood fats and cholesterol breakdown compared to those sired by mice fed the standard diet.

Although the study involved mice, the research actually has its roots in several human observational studies that suggested there was a paternal and even grand-paternal effect from diet on the risks for diabetes, obesity and heart disease...