LONDON, Jan 29, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Minor manipulations of a mother's diet can hugely affect the lifespan of her children, according to a new British study.

"At the two extremes we looked at, the dietary changes increased the difference in lifespan by more than 50 percent," Susan Ozanne, who performed the research on mice with Nicholas Hales at Cambridge University told New Scientist. "In humans, this could equate to the difference between reaching 50 and living to be 75 years old."

The researchers fed a variety of different diets to a group of 144 mice pups, as well as the subjects' mothers. The pups that lived longest were well fed in the womb and had mothers whose diets were relatively low in protein during lactation.

The pups that had the shortest lives received a low-protein diet while in the womb, but were subsequently fed well by their mothers who ate a protein-rich diet while breast feeding.



Copyright 2004 by United Press International.