“Most of the chronic diseases we talk about today are known to be of fetal origin. This means that the parents’ poor health conditions before and during pregnancy have negative consequences for the child, possibly through chemical modification of the genes, ”said researcher Zhen Yan, PhD, a top exercise expert at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “We were inspired by our previous mouse research which implied that regular aerobic exercise for an obese mother before and during pregnancy could protect the child from the early onset of diabetes. In this study we asked the questions: what if an obese mother only exercises during pregnancy, and what if the father is obese? “
