There’s now overwhelming evidence that a child’s future health is influenced by more than just their parents’ genetic material, and that children born of unhealthy parents will already be pre-programmed for greater risk of poor health, according to University of Adelaide researchers.

In a feature paper called “Parenting from before conception” published in today’s issue of the top international journal Science, researchers at the University’s Robinson Research Institute say environmental factors prior to conception have more influence on the child’s future than previously thought.

via Message to parents: Babies don’t ‘start from scratch’.