A recent study by a Japanese team could pave the way for the development of treatments aimed at reducing health issues like kidney disorders for low birthweight babies, while also working towards breaking the intergenerational cycle of related diseases.

In Japan, around 10 percent of babies are born with low birthweight, according to the team.

The research comes as a growing number of babies in Japan are born weighing less than 2,500 grams, causing them to face a higher and yet unexplained risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes in adulthood.

In the research led by Tohoku University, the team developed a method to produce a low birthweight mouse that developed kidney disorders and hypertension as it aged, according to the study published in the US journal iScience.