If you're an overweight woman, blame your grandpa's smoking habits
Women! Do you think you are overweight despite a proper diet and a healthy enough lifestyle? Well, then you may want to blame the habits of your paternal grandfather, or even great-grandfather!
A new study conducted in the UK as part of the ongoing ‘Children of the 90s Health Study’ has found that women and girls whose paternal grandfathers and great-grandfathers started smoking before hitting puberty or the age of 13, have more body fat that is unlinked to their current diet and lifestyle.
In other words, these women and girls inherited the body fat due to the habits of their ancestors. Interestingly, the same effect was not seen in male descendants of smoking ancestors.
The research which is published in the journal Scientific Reports provides a one-of-its-kind evidence that exposure to substances among humans can have an impact on their descendents. However, more research in this area is required to come to concrete conclusions.
Also to note, this study focuses on male ancestors, meaning that the health of offspring may not only depend on the health or habits of the mother or ancestors on the maternal side, but also on the paternal side.
WHAT IS THE ‘CHILDREN OF THE 90s’ STUDY?
To understand the current research, let’s first take a look at the larger study. The Children of the 90s study began in 1991 at the University of Bristol, UK. It has been over 30 years that the researchers have been observing the participants and their families, who also agreed to participate.
Over 2,000 papers have been published as part of the study so far and the researchers have collected over a million samples from the participants over the years. The study has made some interesting observations, from finding that increased TV time as a child raised the risk of asthma, to linking what you ate as a three-year-old to your school performance.
WHAT DOES THE CURRENT STUDY SAY?
Researchers studied the habits of grandfathers instead of grandmothers, as very few of the female ancestors claimed to smoke before puberty. The study found that women had higher body fat if their grandfathers or great-grandfathers smoked before puberty, when compared to those whose ancestors started smoking after hitting puberty.
IN THE PAST
Over the years, there have been numerous studies that link parents’ health to that of their children. Women are often told to take special care of their health during pregnancy and eat certain foods to ensure the good health of the child.
Smoking and drinking during pregnancy have also been linked to negative side-effects in children. Not just the mother, one study in 2017 revealed that a woman was 67% more likely to develop autistic and poor communication traits if her maternal grandmother smoked during pregnancy.
Also, it’s not just about the mother’s health or the health of the maternal side.
A 2014 study revealed that fathers who began smoking before the age of 11 had sons who weighed 5-10 kg more than their peers.
But there are so many questions unanswered - starting from the curious no effect on male ancestors found in this study, to all the research that tells us that smoking reduces weight.
Till then, we may need health warning on cigarette packets changed from just ‘Smoking is injurious to health’ to ‘Smoking is injurious to the health of your 3 future generations and more’.