Proceeding of Veterinary and Animal Science Days 2018, 6th- 8th June, Milan, Italy 

HAF © 2013 

Vol. V, No. 1s ISSN: 2283-3927 

   

 

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Invited paper 

The thrifty phenotype hypothesis states that reduced foetal growth is strongly associated with 

the occurrence of a number of chronic non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart 

disease, stroke, diabetes, and hypertension in later life and during adulthood. This increased 

susceptibility results from adaptations made by the foetus in an environment limited in its 

supply of nutrients. Since its conception, the thrifty phenotype hypothesis has always been 

tested exclusively in one of the genders, i.e. females. The evidence provided to prove the 

validity of this hypothesis has always been limited in experiments following mothers. 

Furthermore, the majority of anecdotal evidence as well as epidemiological studies conducted 

have hardly been able to differentiate between the effect of factors such as nutrition, stress, 

climate changes, etc. on the environment in the womb during the periconception period and 

its effect on the embryo or the final maturational stages of female gamete either in ovary or in 

the womb. In this presentation, we discuss the tremendous potential provided by studying 

pregnancy in seahorses to test the effect of factors such as good and low-quality nutrition 

during the periconception period in pregnant males and its consequences on the health and 

quality of offspring produced. 

 

 

 

Keywords 

Foetal growth,  Pregnancy, 

Nutrition, Periconception, 

Health. 

 

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR 

Alireza Fazeli 

a.fazeli@sheffield.ac.uk 

 

JOURNAL HOME PAGE 

riviste.unimi.it/index.php/haf 

When dads become pregnant, would 

they do a better job? 

A. Fazeli
1,2,

*, F. Otero
3
, F. Lättekivi

2
, S.Koks

2
, M.Izquierdo

3
, 

W. V. Holt
1
 

1
Academic Unit of Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, Sheffield 

University, Sheffield, United Kingdom 

2
Department of Pathophysiology, Tartu University, Tartu, Estonia 

3
Grupo en Biodiversidad y Conservación, IU-ECOAQUA, Universidad de 

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Crta. Taliarte s/n, 35214 Telde, Spain