Paternal Low Protein Diet and Adult Offspring Health in Mice

Should we change the old adage “you are what you eat” instead to “you are what your parents eat”? A new study by Adam Watkins and Kevin Sinclair investigates the correlation between a low protein paternal diet and the X and Y bearing sperm. While we have long understood the effects of maternal nutrition during pregnancy on offspring cardiovascular and metabolic health, does the same hold true for the paternal side of the equation during conception? Listen as Consulting Editor Steven P. Jones interviews lead author Adam Watkins (Aston University, United Kingdom) and expert Christopher Torrens (University of Southampton, United Kingdom) about this integrative cardiovascular physiology work that seeks to understand: Could what a male eats determine the gender of his offspring?

Adam J. Watkins , Kevin D. Sinclair Paternal low protein diet affects adult offspring cardiovascular and metabolic function in mice Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published May 15, 2014. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00981.2013.