Violence experienced by expecting mothers detectable in the DNA of their grandchildren

In 1944 and 1945, during the Second World War, the Netherlands experienced a winter famine. Studies have revealed that the children of mothers who were pregnant during this period tended to be overweight and have lifestyle diseases. By contrast, the children of mothers who had been pregnant during the siege of Leningrad in the Second World War displayed none of these tendencies. One of the differences was that, after 1945, Holland developed into an affluent society with an abundance of food, while the Soviet Union did not. These Dutch children had been programmed to survive in a world of famine and few resources but were actually living in abundance.