The National University of Singapore has found potential intergenerational effects of physical activity and nutrition on placental methylation and fetal growth

Healthy diets and active lifestyles may benefit pregnant women and their children, as evidenced

The research team led by Professor Cuilin Zhang, Director of the Global Centre for Asian Women's Health and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) Yonglorin School of Medicine, in collaboration with researchers at the National Institutes of Health, has been studying the longitudinal physical activity and nutritional status

"We want to better understand the short- and long-term effects of diet and lifestyle on maternal and fetal health, as well as their underlying mechanisms

A new study by Professor Zhang investigates the intergenerational effects of physical activity in pregnant women before and during pregnancy on the health of their offspring through the effects of placental DNA methylation

Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the team found that recreational physical activity before and during pregnancy was significantly associated with a site in the placental DNA methylation region that regulates gene expression, meaning that the mother's pre- and prenatal physical activity may affect the development of the heart, immune system, and nervous system in the early fetal period

Another area of research led by Professor Zhang is maternal nutrition and fetal growth

Queenie Li Lingjun, assistant professor at the Global Centre for Asian Women's Health and Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the National University of Singapore School of Medicine, said: "The findings of our longitudinal study not only provide new insights into the different roles of blood PUFAs in fetal development throughout pregnancy, but also determine how long this effect begins and whether this effect will persist throughout pregnancy

Article title

Recreational physical activity before and during pregnancy and placental DNA methylation—an epigenome-wide association study