A new study has revealed that consuming a high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy may cause liver stress in unborn babies, with effects persisting into early life.

The study, published in Liver International, highlights how changes in fetal bile acid levels influence the development and progression of liver disease.

According to the study, unborn babies exposed to a maternal diet rich in fats and sugars experience an accumulation of bile acids, which are essential for digestion and fat absorption in the small intestine.

However, the researchers explained that excessive bile acid levels can become toxic and cause liver damage. While mothers possess the ability to detoxify these acids, the fetus does not have the same capability.

They stated that bile acids may re-circulate to the mother for detoxification, but when this process fails, the acids build up in the fetal liver, increasing the risk of future health complications.

The study’s findings suggest that early exposure to excess bile acids in the womb may play a significant role in the early onset of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition affecting up to 30 per cent of young people.

A co-senior author of the study, Jed Friedman, expressed concern over the implications. He noted that the study underscored a serious public health issue, emphasizing that mothers with obesity or poor dietary habits could predispose their children to obesity, diabetes, and metabolic diseases from birth.