Nutrition, DNA Methylation and Obesity Across Life Stages and Generations

Abstract

Obesity is a complex multifactorial condition that often manifests in early life with a lifelong burden on metabolic health. Diet, including pre-pregnancy maternal diet, in utero nutrition and dietary patterns in early and late life, can shape obesity development. Growing evidence suggests that epigenetic modifications, specifically DNA methylation, might mediate or accompany these effects across life stages and generations. By reviewing human observational and intervention studies conducted over the past 10 years, this work provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence linking nutrition to DNA methylation and its association with obesity across different age periods, spanning from preconception to adulthood and identify future research directions in the field.

Keywords::

• age acceleration
• bioactive components
• childhood obesity
• diet
• epigenetic signatures
• macronutrients
• maternal nutrition
• methylation age
• minerals
• overweight or obesity
• vitamins

Financial disclosure

Yaskolka Meir’s postdoctoral fellowship is supported by the Council for Higher Education and Zuckerman support program for outstanding postdoctoral female researchers. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Competing interests disclosure

The authors have no competing interests or relevant affiliations with any organization or entity with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Writing disclosure

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.