The unsuspected role of paternal diet before conception

Non-obese male rats received DHA orally prior to breeding. After birth, offspring of both sexes were fed either a standard diet or a diet high in fat and sugar. Various metabolic parameters were measured, including the expression of genes involved in lipid synthesis and utilization in the liver. The results were unexpected. Despite paternal exposure to DHA, animals fed the high-calorie diet showed increased body weight and adiposity, as well as disturbances in lipid metabolism. However, the effects of paternal DHA supplementation varied according to the sex of the offspring. In females, the high-calorie diet resulted in greater hyperlipidemia than in males, as well as hepatic triglyceride accumulation associated with changes in the expression of genes involved in lipid export and de novo lipogenesis. Factorial analyses of variance revealed that sex and the postnatal diet were the main factors associated with these changes. These findings are therefore of twofold interest in the field of DOHaD. First, they confirm that the paternal preconception period is an important window for programming offspring health. Second, they show that the effects of paternal nutrition may vary according to the sex of the offspring and its postnatal diet.

Reference: Quynh DD, García-Santillán JA, Van Thuan N, Bolaños-Jiménez F. Paternal DHA supplementation before conception shapes offspring lipid metabolism in a sex- and postnatal diet-dependent manner. Nutr Res. 2026 Oct;154:73-88. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2026.08.003. Epub 2026 Aug 15. PMID: 42735572.