Father's lifestyle and diet affect the cognitive skills of his offspring

Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease have shown that if male rodents eat foods rich in vitamin B12, methionine and folic acid, their offspring will not perform well in memory test.

Child development is also affected by father's diet and lifestyle: if male rodents eat food rich in fats, their offspring may become diabetic.

Another group of rodents was given balanced diet, mated with female mice, their offspring was examined and their is clear difference between rodents that were fed with balanced diet and those fed with methyl donor-rich diet.

This shows that mother's diet is not the only cause of abnormality in offspring, paternal diet can affect learning skills in offspring.