Adult Liver Disease May Be Caused by Mother’s High Fat Diet in Pregnancy

October 14, 2009 by Cathy Ribble
Filed under: News

A high fat diet during pregnancy can lead to a woman’s children developing severe liver disease when they become adults according to a study published by Professor Christopher Byrne and The University of Southampton School of Medicine.

The University of Southampton School of Medicine is well known through the world for its studies researching mothers’ diets during pregnancy and future health problems in children.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is caused by the buildup of fat in the liver. NAFLD has become one of the most common forms of liver disease. As scientists seek to understand the progression of the disease, it is often associated with obesity. It was once thought to be harmless, but now scientists believe it can lead to the serious, life-threatening condition of cirrhosis.

Professor Byrne conducted the study funded by BBSRC and was assisted by colleagues Dr. Felino Cagampang and Dr. Kim Bruce of the University’s School of Medicine and researchers at King’s College London.

Dr. Byrne stated, “This research shows that too much saturated fat in a mother’s diet can affect the developing liver of a fetus, making it more susceptible to developing fatty liver disease later in life. An unhealthy saturated fat-enriched diet in the child and young adult compounds the problem further causing a severe form of the fatty liver disease later in adult life.”