A father's unhealthy eating habits could lead to heart disease in his daughters, study says
BOSTON - Like father, like daughter? A new study finds a father's unhealthy eating can lead to heart disease in his daughters later on.
Researchers at University of California Riverside fed male mice a high-cholesterol diet to raise their blood lipid levels. The mice were then mated with female mice fed a regular, low-cholesterol diet. They found that the female offspring were two to three times more likely to develop atherosclerosis, or "hardening of the arteries" and the leading cause of cardiovascular disease.
The researchers said an unhealthy diet, environmental exposures, and stress in males can alter the genetic material in their sperm, which can be transferred to offspring during fertilization of an egg. It's not clear why only the female offspring seem to be affected, but the investigators say men who plan to have kids should consider eating a healthy diet so they don't pass a higher risk of heart disease onto their daughters.