High-fat pregnancy diet causes liver stress in fetus
When pregnant women ingest a diet high in fat and sugars, their unborn babies develop liver stress that continues into early life, says a new study published in Liver International Journal. The study conducted by researchers of the University of Oklahoma revealed changes in the fetus’ bile acid, which determines how liver disease develops and progresses.
Bile acids aid digestion and absorb dietary fats in the small intestine. But when they reach excessive levels, they become toxic and damage the liver. The study findings suggest that early fetal exposure to excess bile acids in the womb is a factor underlying early development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which affects up to 30 percent of youth.
“It’s a huge public health concern, as we know mothers who are obese or those eating a poor diet can put the next generation at high risk of obesity, diabetes and other metabolic diseases beginning in the womb, thus completing a vicious cycle from mother to infant,” says Jed Friedman, associate vice provost for diabetes programs at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences and study co-senior author.
High BMI in adolescence increases hypertension risk in adulthood
A recent study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension has found that teenagers with high Body Mass Index (BMI) are more likely to develop high blood pressure as adults, particularly if they have genetic predisposition. This highlights the importance of early weight management to reduce long-term cardiovascular risks.
Researchers from the Université de Montréal, Canada, examined blood samples at age 14 and saliva samples taken at ages 20 and 25 from 714 participants of European ancestry, spanning various growth stages (12, 15, 17, 24, and 30 years). They identified strong links between high blood pressure and several chronic non-communicable diseases, including kidney and cardiovascular diseases. The study reveals that systolic blood pressure in males steadily increased from adolescence into adulthood, while in females, it remained relatively stable, indicating sex-based physiological differences in blood pressure regulation.
According to the study authors, “early intervention through healthy lifestyle choices during adolescence can significantly reduce the lifetime risk of hypertension, making it essential for healthcare systems and public health policies to prioritize weight management in young populations”.
Low carb diet increases colorectal cancer risk
A low-carbohydrate diet can worsen the DNA-damaging effects of some gut microbes leading to colorectal cancer, say researchers from the University of Toronto. The study published in Nature Microbiology Journal compared the effects of three different diets — normal, low-carb, and Western-style with high fat and high sugar — in combination with specific gut bacteria on colorectal cancer development in mice.
They found that a unique strain of E. coli bacteria, when paired with a diet low in carbs and soluble fibre, drives the growth of polyps in the colon, which can be a precursor to cancer. “Colorectal cancer has always been thought of as being caused by a number of different factors including diet, gut microbiome, environment and genetics. Our question was whether diet influences the ability of specific bacteria to cause cancer,” says senior author Alberto Martin, a professor of immunology at University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.
Microplastics cause antibiotic resistance
Bacteria exposed to microplastics — tiny shards of plastic debris — become resistant to multiple types of antibiotics commonly used to treat infections, reveals a study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. A team of researchers from Boston University analyzed biofilms (protective three-dimensional structures created by bacteria from its own waste) on microplastics and glass created by E. coli, a potentially dangerous bacteria that can cause diarrhea and stomach pain. While many surfaces can host biofilms — the plaque on teeth is a biofilm — plastics provide an especially strong bond that attracts the most prolific bacteria, observes the study.
“We found the link between microplastics and how they lead to antimicrobial resistance is both real and not limited to a single antibiotic. It’s broad, impacting many commonly used antibiotics, which makes it really, really concerning,” says Muhammad Zaman, professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University College of Engineering.
