The reason that starvation in utero is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes in later life is that the fetus prepares for its likely adult environment which is not encountered (thrifty phenotype). These epigenetic changes are due to increased gene activity and expression rather than by starvation induced changes in the DNA sequence.5

Therefore, after 33 years, I believe it is time to reinterpret Crawford’s data and conclude that the large increases in death from diabetes during nineteenth century in Ireland was due to the in utero effects of starvation during the Irish Potato Famine and not due to increases in the intake of fat and sugar.

A large body of research going back decades indicates that stress of the type Bascom experienced can affect the fetus, causing physical and psychological harm that lingers throughout the child’s lifespan. With its chaotic response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States has unwittingly subjected more than a year’s worth of newborns to conditions resembling an enormous experiment on the long-term effects of stress during pregnancy.

cw: article contains a lot of anti-fat bias