Gaza, Palestine (Enmaeya News) — The Gaza Strip is going through a terrible famine, called the worst in the world. The situation is getting worse every day. But scientists warn that the effects of famine last much longer than the hunger itself and can affect people for generations.
One important example comes from the Dutch Hunger Winter during World War II. Research showed that children whose mothers were starving while pregnant had serious health problems later in life. These problems include a higher chance of heart disease, diabetes, and mental health issues.
Scientists believe these problems happen because the mother’s body changes the genes passed to the baby when she is starving. This is called “genetic memory.” It means that very hard experiences, like famine, can leave marks on genes that are passed down through families.
Genes are the instructions in our bodies that control traits like hair color and how cells work. Genetic memory means that these instructions can be changed by difficult conditions like lack of food. These changes affect how healthy people are, how they behave, and how their bodies work.
This happens through a process called gene expression. This is how genes create proteins that do important jobs in the body. Hunger and stress can change how genes work without changing the actual DNA code. This science is called epigenetics.
One way this happens is called DNA methylation. It adds small chemical tags to DNA that turn genes on or off. When someone is starving for a long time, their body adapts by changing gene activity. This helps save energy, focus on important functions, and change how fat and sugar are handled. These changes can be passed to children if they help the family survive.
Famine also causes strong stress. This stress can change genes that control how the body responds to stress and fights disease. People who survive hunger with weak immune systems may pass on helpful gene changes to their children.
Hunger can even affect brain growth early in life. This can lead to mood and thinking problems in children whose parents experienced famine, even if the children did not. Animal studies support this. For example, mice whose mothers had limited food during pregnancy showed more anxiety and different eating habits. These changes were linked to gene changes and were passed to their offspring.
In another study, researchers at the University of St. Mary in Texas gave mice very little food several times in their lives. The mice lost up to 30% of their body weight during these famines. Scientists found that these mice had lower body temperatures and blood sugar than healthy mice. Their bodies seemed prepared for more famine by saving fat better.
These findings, shared at a 2017 scientific meeting, show that famine’s effects last long after hunger ends. They change the bodies of survivors and their descendants.
As Gaza faces a worsening food crisis, this research shows how famine can damage not just people now, but future generations too.
