Does Obesity Change Our Genes?

We know obesity can affect women’s health in several ways (see episode 7 – At the Intersection of Obesity and Women’s Health with Dr. Paola Gehrig). But can obesity in one generation create genetic changes that will carry through several generations? Dr. Kelle Moley of the Washington University in St. Louis Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology sat down with the Women’s Healthcast to discuss her research in mouse models that suggests obesity can change our mitochondrial DNA and become a transgenerational trait.

And stick around until the end of the episode for a bonus interview with Dr. Jonathan Kohler, pediatric general surgeon in the UW-Madison Department of Surgery and host of the Surgery Sett, a podcast about the ideas, inventions and innovations of the worldwide surgical community. Learn about why he wanted to to pull back the curtain on surgery with his podcast.