If You Eat Poorly, Your Grandkids Pay Price

What you eat can take a toll on your DNA, and the phenomenon can last for generations, two studies suggest. In other words, regardless of your children's and grandchildren's nutritional habits, your diet could put them at higher risk for obesity and diabetes, LiveScience reports. Researchers found that the offspring of overfed male mice suffered symptoms of metabolic syndrome—even though their own eating habits were fine.

Another study, meanwhile, finds that nutrients may prompt genetic mutations by acting on chromatin, the material that houses the DNA. Consuming the right nutrients, a researcher speculates, could lead to the "birth of a 'super baby' with long life and (lower risk) of diabetes and metabolic syndrome." Experts are still unsure how nutrient-altered genes are transferred to new generations. (More DNA stories.)