Epigenetics of Human Health

The most recent episode of Radiolab entitled, "Inheritance", featured a segment suggesting that environmental factors experienced by one generation of humans can affect the livelihood of future generations. This story focuses on a Swedish study that looked at familial health in response to well-recorded periods of famine in the town of Överkalix. The researchers asked how starvation in one generation of its citizens affected the health of their progeny. The results, as echoed by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich of Radiolab, are quite astounding. The study reported that a male individual that experienced famine between the ages of 9-12 was more likely to have healthier children (and grandchildren) of their own. This article specifically cited a reduction in occurrence of heart disease (75%) and diabetes. The icing on the cake, however, is the studies claim that the average life expectancy of these progeny was approximately 30 years more than those of their well-fed peers!

Not all, however, is peachy. In this study, male adolescents that had abundant access to food between the ages of 9 - 12 were four times as likely to have children and grandchildren that had increased heart disease or diabetes (4-fold increase risk).

Could these findings provide a commentary on the current health profile of the American population? As an example, let’s examine the incidence of diabetes and obesity in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), rates of Americans diagnosed with diabetes continue to increase yearly. And these are not meager gains; the percentage of diabetics in the U.S has double in 8 years (1998 to 2006), a feat that previously took almost 30 years (1970 - 1998). Similarly, obesity rates have skyrocketed in the U.S. in recent years, shocking the nation into re-evaluating their dietary and exercise habits. 


Could an increase in obesity and diabetes amongst the American population be related to the eating habits and food availability during the nations previous generation? During the post-World War II era, considerable advancements were made in food processing techniques. This resulted in mass production, cheaper cost and greater availability of foods. In effect, the grandparents of the current youth were raised in a food abundant environment, which was probably not the case for the grandparent’s grandparents.