Mother’s Diet and Environment May Disrupt Children’s Metabolism, Study Finds

A mother’s exposure to high-fat diets and environmental contaminants can disrupt her offspring’s metabolism, according to new research using lab mice conducted at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The study, led by environmental toxicology professor Raquel Chamorro-Garcia, investigated how common environmental chemicals affect metabolic health across generations. Researchers focused on three specific metabolic disruptors: the human-made obesogen tributyltin (TBT), naturally occurring inorganic arsenic and a third chemical commonly found in groundwater and soil.

According to the study’s lead author, Carlos Diaz-Castillo, an associate researcher in the Chamorro-Garcia Lab, the experiments revealed sexual dimorphism in the offspring, meaning male and female mice showed different metabolic characteristics in the next generation.

Tributyltin, a chemical associated with multigenerational obesity, is found in ocean sediment, seafood, and even house dust. Inorganic arsenic, which enters the environment through the weathering and erosion of rocks and soil, impacts over 200 million people worldwide and has long been linked to increased risk of type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

The researchers designed the study to reflect the complexity of real-world human exposures, testing how combinations of these chemicals might influence health outcomes across generations. Their work contributes to the growing understanding of the exposome—the cumulative measure of environmental exposures over a lifetime and their effects on health.

These findings suggest that what mothers are exposed to through diet and environment may have lasting consequences for their children’s metabolic health, highlighting the importance of reducing exposure to harmful chemicals during pregnancy.