Gaby
An international team of scientists found that a child’s facial shape is influenced by the mother’s diet during pregnancy, according to findings published in Nature Communications.
The researchers found that a protein-rich maternal diet is associated with larger, more pronounced noses and jaws in offspring.
Subtle differences in people’s appearances—from skull shape to the amount of nasal cartilage—begin in the womb and are shaped by mTORC1 signaling, which nutrition activates. The more protein a woman consumes during pregnancy, the more active mTORC1 signaling becomes, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Researchers suggest it’s even possible to “tune” a child’s appearance in advance—adjusting nose length, nostril width, and the shape of the cheeks and jaw.
Despite sharing the same genes, siblings often look completely different. Even “identical” twins are never exactly the same. Scientists have long puzzled over those subtle differences, and the new study suggests a mother’s diet plays a role. “We found that changing protein levels in the maternal diet regulates mTORC1 activity, leading to subtle but distinct changes in embryonic craniofacial shape,” the researchers wrote. They added that this mechanism produces variations in facial features.
During the experiment, researchers gave pregnant mice and fish different diets. Those dietary differences altered mTORC1 signaling during embryonic development, producing measurable changes in the offspring’s facial anatomy. A high-protein maternal diet was linked to enlarged facial features, stronger jaws, and thicker nasal cartilage in offspring. Conversely, a low-protein maternal diet produced offspring with thinner, sharper features.
The researchers said this correlation could give certain animals an advantage when foraging for food in areas where protein is scarce.
