A new study has found that a child’s risk of obesity may be more strongly influenced by maternal genes than paternal ones, due to a phenomenon known as "genetic nurturing." This emerging concept in genetics refers to the indirect effect of parental genes on a child’s health and behavior, not through inherited DNA, but through the environment shaped by parental genetic traits.
اضافة اعلان
According to this theory, a parent's genetic makeup may influence factors such as education level or lifestyle choices, which in turn shape the environment in which the child is raised—affecting the child's physical and psychological development. This phenomenon is sometimes called "genetics through environment", as it goes beyond traditional genetic inheritance to include the imprint that parental genes leave on daily life and parenting styles.
The Study and Its Findings
The study, conducted by researchers at University College London (UCL) and published in the journal PLOS Genetics, analyzed health and genetic data from 2,621 British families who are part of the Millennium Cohort Study, which tracks individuals born in the early 2000s.
Researchers examined the relationship between the body mass index (BMI) of parents and their children’s weight and eating habits across six age stages, from age 3 to 17. They also used self-reported dietary data from the children to assess how both maternal and paternal genetics influenced their physical health.
The study found that the father's genetic influence on the child’s weight was almost entirely direct, through inherited DNA. In contrast, maternal genetics showed both direct and indirect effects. Even when the researchers controlled for inherited genes, the maternal environment still played a significant role in determining a child’s likelihood of being overweight.
A Key Role for Mothers' Environments
Lead author Liam Wright, a researcher at UCL’s Institute of Social Research, emphasized that the findings highlight the critical role of maternal environments, which are shaped by maternal genetics.
“This is not about blaming mothers,” Wright stated. “It’s about recognizing the importance of supporting families to create healthy environments that contribute to better long-term outcomes for children.”
The study also went beyond traditional BMI measurements, particularly in children, by including detailed fat mass assessments, offering a more comprehensive picture of childhood obesity.
Implications for Public Health Policy
The researchers recommend that public health interventions focus on supporting mothers, especially during pregnancy, to help interrupt the intergenerational cycle of obesity. This represents a shift in understanding obesity as a multi-factorial issue, involving genetic, environmental, and behavioral components, and calls for more inclusive, family-oriented support systems—particularly for mothers.
On a global level, childhood obesity remains a major concern. According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, 35 million children under age 5 were overweight in 2024. In 2022, more than 390 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 were classified as overweight, including 160 million with obesity.
The WHO uses a growth reference standard to diagnose obesity or undernutrition in children, which includes measures like height-for-age, weight-for-age, and BMI-for-age. Studies like this one provide valuable evidence for preventive health strategies worldwide.
