In the course of the study, scientists analyzed data from nearly two thousand participants in the British long-term ALSPAC project. It was found that by the age of 24, one in ten participants had been diagnosed with fatty liver disease. The risk of the disease in children whose parents were overweight before pregnancy was more than three times higher compared to those whose parents had a normal body mass index. Each additional kilogram of the mother's BMI increased the risk of the disease by 10%, while the father's increased it by 9%.
Researchers also noted that two-thirds of the observed relationship could be explained by the children's own overweight between the ages of 7 and 17. Thus, the influence of parental excess weight on children occurs largely indirectly—through the children's predisposition to weight gain.
MASLD is considered the most common chronic liver disease in the world: it is estimated to affect about 15% of children and more than 30% of adults.
The authors of the study emphasize that this is an observational study, so it is not yet appropriate to draw definitive conclusions about causality. Nevertheless, they believe that reducing excess weight in both parents before conception could have long-term positive effects on the metabolic health of future children.
