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Obesity, which could reach 50% of the population in certain
developed countries by 2030, is a major public health
concern. It not only affects the health of those who suffer
from it, but could also have serious consequences for their
offspring. Scientists have studied the impact of maternal
obesity on the risk of developing liver disease and liver
cancer. The team discovered that this risk was indeed much
higher in the offspring of mothers suffering from obesity.
One of the main causes was the transmission of a disturbed
intestinal microbiota from the mother, resulting in a
chronic liver disease whose effects became apparent in
adulthood. The scientific community suspects that maternal
obesity disrupts the metabolic balance of the unborn child,
and even increases the risk of childhood cancer and
colorectal cancer. The scientists studied two groups of
female mice: the first fed with a diet rich in fat and sugar
similar to junk food which rapidly became obese. The second
the control group was fed normally. All their offspring were
fed with a normal diet and were not overweight. The only
difference was therefore the maternal obesity of the first
group. At 40 weeks, a senior age in mice, the liver health
of the first group began to deteriorate. All the parameters
of liver disease fat deposits, fibrosis, and inflammation
were significantly higher in the offspring of mothers
suffering from obesity. And these are the main risk factors
for liver cancer in humans. To confirm whether the mice had
a higher risk of developing liver cancer, the team injected
two groups of these mice with an oncogenic product just
after weaning. And indeed, the offspring of obese mothers
had an 80% risk of developing cancer, compared with 20% for
the control group. Obesity alters the composition and
diversity of the mother's microbiota, which is passed on to
the next generation and persists throughout life. As a
result, the healthy microbiota naturally regains the upper
hand, and the marker of liver disease dramatically
decreased. The junk food diet encourages the proliferation
of bad bacteria and reduces bacterial diversity. This
altered microbiota, transmitted at birth, then leads to
greater inflammation in the liver and, over time, generates
fibrosis and steatosis which in turn increase the risk of
developing liver cancer.
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