Paternal Ultra-Processed Food Intake Linked to Higher Birth Weight and Infant Fat

A study of 43 father‑mother‑newborn triads in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil found that fathers who consumed more ultra‑processed foods before conception had babies with higher birth weight and increased fat deposition in the thighs and suprailiac region. Researchers from the University of São Paulo’s Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, led by Professor Daniela Sartorelli and co‑author Mariana Rinaldi Carvalho, reported that the diet likely creates a pro‑inflammatory environment that alters sperm quality and gene expression, including the paternal IGF‑II gene, through epigenetic mechanisms. The findings suggest that paternal nutrition may influence early infant body composition and future cardiometabolic risk, highlighting a previously under‑examined factor in offspring health.

The work, published in Nutrition Research, is the first to demonstrate a direct association between paternal ultra‑processed food intake and newborn body composition, adding to emerging evidence that paternal lifestyle can have intergenerational health effects.