Father's Obesity may Increase Child's Risk of Autism: Study

While previous studies have examined the connection between maternal obesity during pregnancy and the risk of developmental disorders in children, paternal obesity and increased health risks have often been undermined. However, a recent study takes an in-depth look at the role of paternal obesity and the potential increased risk of autism.

"We have a long way to go. We must study genetic factors in the relationship between obesity and autism, as well as environmental factors associated with switching the genes on or off -- so-called epigenetic factors," said lead study author Dr. Pal Suren, via a press release.

Suren and other researchers used data from the Norwegian mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), which questioned over 90,000 Norwegian children at three, five and seven years of age. Parents were also questioned regarding mental and physical aspects of their health, along with data from the Norwegian Patient Registry that was included in the findings.

Out of 419 children, results showed that around 0.45 percent of the sample had an autism spectrum diagnosis (ASD), which is slightly lower than the general population, at 0.8 percent. Twenty-two percent of mothers and 43 percent of fathers were overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 30, while 10 percent of mothers and fathers were obese, with a BMI of 30 or more.

Though researchers found that maternal obesity had little to no association with the development of autism in children, they noted a doubled risk for the behavioral issue as well as Asperger's syndrome in children with obese fathers, compared to those of normal weight.

"We were very surprised by these findings because we expected that maternal obesity would be the main risk factor for the development of ASD. It means that we have had too much focus on the mother and too little on the father. This probably reflects the fact that we have given greater focus to conditions in pregnancy, such as the growth environment for the fetus in the womb than both environmental and genetic factors before conception," Surén added, via the release.

Though Suren concludes that further studies will need to be conducted in order to prove the accuracy of the results, she believes the findings to be sound. After adjusting certain variables associated with the development of autism, including maternal obesity, education, smoking, mental disorders, hormone replacement therapy before pregnancy, use of folic acid, maternal diabetes and the child's weight at birth, findings showed that the risk remained unchanged.

"Our findings therefore suggest that there may be a genetic link between obesity in the father and the development of ASD in the child."

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More information regarding the findings can be seen via the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.