PARENTAL obesity pre-pregnancy is linked to nearly four times higher odds of metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in offspring, a 2026 UK cohort study has found.
Parental Obesity and Liver Disease
MASLD is the most common chronic liver disease. It is estimated to affect 15% of children and more than 30% of adults globally.
Maternal obesity has been linked to offspring MASLD, but the roles of parental obesity and its relationship with childhood adiposity were yet to be established.
Animal models suggest a transgenerational predisposition to fatty liver disease in the children of parents with obesity.
Nearly Four Times the Risk of Liver Disease
Researchers included nearly 2,000 offspring from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and assessed the associated between parental pre-pregnancy BMI and risk of offspring MASLD at age 24 years.
Pre-pregnancy maternal and paternal obesity were independently associated with increased odds of offspring MASLD.
A 1 kg/m2 increase in maternal BMI increased the odds of offspring MASLD by 10%, and an increase in paternal BMI by the same amount increased the risk by 9%.
Offspring with two parents who had overweight or obesity before pregnancy were found to have 3.73 times the odds of MASLD.
This was largely explained by cumulative excess childhood BMI.
Limited Data
Due to limited data, researchers were unable to assess parental MASLD status, paternal comorbidities at the time of pregnancy, and offspring physical inactivity in early adulthood.
Growth parameters before age 7 years were unavailable for all offspring, so the role of very early childhood weight gain could not be fully assessed.
Life Course Investigation
Findings highlighted a developmental risk of MASLD associated with biparental obesity, leadings researchers to emphasise the potential of life course investigations in reducing the risk of MASLD in offspring.
Amid complex mechanisms behind the association, researchers suggested a window where early intervention on excess adiposity may decrease the risk of MASLD in future generations.
References
Tica S et al. Parental obesity and risk of metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease in adult offspring: UK birth cohort study. Gut. 2026;DOI:10.1136/ gutjnl-2025-336165.
Wong VW-S et al. Changing epidemiology, global trends and implications for outcomes of NAFLD. J Hepatol. 2023;79:842-52.
Quek J et al. Global prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in the overweight and obese population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023;8:20-30.
Riazi K et al. The prevalence and incidence of NAFLD worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022;7:851-61.
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