Child autism risk increases with father’s obesity
Children who are born to fathers who are obese could have an increased risk of autism than children whose fathers are thinner, according to a new study. Around 93,000 children in Norway were followed by researchers, who discovered that the children of obese fathers had increased risk of developing autism, although the odds are still negligible at less than 0.3 percent, as opposed to 0.14 percent of children who had fathers with a normal weight.
Experts also stress that whether the extra pounds on the father actually causes the increase remains unclear, with some suggesting there may be an indirect association such as certain gene variations being linked to increased risk of both autism and obesity. Perhaps surprisingly, the research seems to indicate that the risk of autism in children is not increased by having an obese mother, despite a connection being indicated by some studies in the past. The exact causes of autism remain unclear, although most experts believe it is a complex mixture of environmental exposures and genetic vulnerability.