A recent scientific study conducted by researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa revealed that women’s weight gain before pregnancy may affect their children’s neurological development and is linked to autism spectrum disorder-like behaviors due to inherited genetic changes. The study explained that obesity can cause metabolic shifts leading to “epigenetic modifications” in the mother’s eggs, which are long-term changes that can be passed to the fetus and affect genes responsible for brain development, including the “Homer1” gene, which plays a key role in regulating neural signals, learning, and memory. This discovery comes amid rising global rates of obesity and autism spectrum disorder. U.S. statistics indicate that over 42% of adults suffer from obesity, while one in every 31 children and one in every 45 adults live with autism. Researchers used in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer techniques, allowing them to study early genetic effects more precisely.

Experiments on animal models showed that male mice born to obese mothers suffered from impaired social interaction and repetitive behaviors, traits associated with autism spectrum disorder.