Should the pregnant woman be exposed to cold at the beginning of pregnancy to have a healthy child throughout her life? This is a question posed by a study published on Monday, April 7 in the scientific journal Nature Metabolism.
In this publication, Japanese researchers show that the exposure of parents to the cold, in the child’s design period, allows him to benefit from the adulthood of a lower BMI and less disorders of metabolism. In summary, a child designed in winter would be less likely to be overweight as they age, or vice versa.
After analyzing different groups, the researchers did not notice an effect on the birth period, simply in the thermal and weather conditions at the time of design.
The importance of “brown fat”
In detail, Japanese researchers have identified a greater presence of brown fat in children’s organisms designed when mercury is low. This “brown fat” generates heat when it is cold and is considered the “good fat” in opposition to the white adipose tissue, which is more developed in people with overweight and obesity.
Scientists believe that the main biological function of “brown fat” is to regulate body temperature, active action unlike passive energy storage of “white fat” that tends to be around the organs.
Weight gain can be summarized between an imbalance between absorbed calories and spent calories. In babies whose gestation took place in winter, their daily consumption of energy seems higher (+5.8% on average), its lower body mass index (BMI) and, therefore, have fewer cases of overweight or obesity.
“We are tempted, when we see this type of result, to say that it is better to live cold and avoid high environmental temperatures,” extrapolated to Figaro Daniel Ricquier, member of the Academy of Sciences, CNRS Emeritus/AP-HP Researcher Necker Hospital.
The fact is that other factors, lifestyle, food, sports practice or other genetic factors should not be extracted from the equation. This is one of the others, and these conclusions must be reinforced.
A mechanism to explain
With the Parisian, the main author of this study, Takeshi Yoneshiro, explains his desire to go beyond the simple observation: “Our next goal is to discover the molecular mechanisms by which the exhibition of parents in the cold before the active conception of brown fat in children.”
Your team will also seek to determine if factors such as food or pharmacological substances can lead to the same effects as the same temperatures, to achieve the same result. After the observation, the underlying mechanisms and a certain number of points remain unanswered.
Source: BFM TV
