While it’s well-established that a pregnant woman’s body mass index (BMI) influences the risk of stillbirth, a recent study conducted by the University of Michigan has unveiled a surprising connection—the grandmother’s BMI may also play a role in the risk of her grandchild experiencing stillbirth.
This remarkable discovery, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, underscores the far-reaching consequences of obesity across generations.
Obesity’s Lingering Effects
The study aimed to explore the relationship between the risk of stillbirth in a grandchild and the grandmother’s weight during her pregnancy with her daughter—the future mother of the grandchild.
Professor Eduardo Villamor, from the U-M School of Public Health, and Professor Sven Cnattingius from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm co-authored this groundbreaking research. Their findings suggest that obesity’s impact may persist and affect future generations.
The study drew upon data from over 300,000 grandmother-mother-grand offspring triads in Sweden.
Researchers examined how the grandmother’s BMI influenced the risk of stillbirth in grand offspring during her pregnancy with her daughter.
The results were striking: grand offspring of women with early-pregnancy BMIs falling within the overweight range (25-29.9) and the obese range (30 or higher) faced 41% and 62% higher risks of stillbirth, respectively, compared to grand offspring of women with a normal BMI (18.5-24.9).
Beyond Familial Factors
Remarkably, the increased stillbirth risk attributed to grandmother’s BMI was not solely a result of shared familial characteristics or genetics.
The researchers discovered that approximately 81% of this risk increase could be directly linked to the grandmother, rather than being mediated by her daughter’s BMI or other shared factors.
This suggests that obesity might influence the way genes are expressed in a female fetus’s eggs, impacting future generations.
One hypothesis proposed by the study is that obesity-related inflammation may induce epigenetic alterations in the germinal cells of the fetus, which can have lasting effects.
These findings shed light on the multifaceted consequences of obesity across generations, urging heightened awareness and intervention.
Professor Villamor emphasized the pressing need to address the obesity epidemic, particularly among women of reproductive age. Obesity stands as the most significant preventable risk factor for stillbirth in many populations.
Understanding that obesity’s effects can persist through generations serves as a call to action for public awareness and policy efforts to promote healthy weight maintenance.
The University of Michigan’s study reveals a novel connection between a grandmother’s BMI and her grandchild’s risk of stillbirth.
This groundbreaking research underscores the importance of addressing the obesity epidemic to safeguard the health and well-being of current and future generations.
Obesity’s impact, as unveiled in this study, serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for preventative measures and public awareness campaigns.
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The research findings can be found in American Journal of Epidemiology.
