Health: Poor diet during pregnancy can put children on a path to weight gain and obesity

A study has warned that mothers who eat an unhealthy diet during their pregnancy put their children on the path of weight gain and obesity.

Researchers from the US investigated the relationship between an expectant mother’s diet and the growth rate of their children between birth and adolescence.

The team found that a pregnancy diet rich in inflammatory foods, including sugars, artificial trans fats and processed meats, was associated with greater weight gain in children between the ages of three and ten.

Previous studies have shown that weight gain in early childhood has been linked to a greater risk of obesity later in childhood, as well as adolescence and adulthood.

Weight issues can start during pregnancy, the team said, as the pathways in which metabolism, growth and eating behaviors are programmed are susceptible to influences.

The team recommends that pregnant women have a Mediterranean diet, which contains lots of food, fish and unsaturated fats, has a low inflammatory potential and can benefit the health of both the mother and the child.

However, the researchers warned that individual nutritional needs may vary and that women should consult their doctor to choose their most appropriate diet.

‘To date, studies linking maternal nutrition during pregnancy to offspring growth have focused on the newborn and early childhood, with limited data expanding later in childhood,’ said author Carmen Monthé-Drèze .

“We wanted to better understand the dynamic growth changes that occur from infancy to adolescence due to maternity during pregnancy,” added the neonatologist from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“We specifically wanted to assess whether there are different periods between birth and adolescence when weight gain is more susceptible to the programming effects of nutrition during pregnancy.”

In their study, Dr. Monthé-Drèze and colleagues analyzed data on 1,459 mother-child pairs collected by Project Viva – an ongoing study of maternal and child health conducted at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Massachusetts.

During their respective pregnancies, each mother was asked to complete questionnaires about their dietary intake, which the researchers interpreted through the lens of three different dietary indices.

These include the Dietary Inflammatory Index, the Mediterranean Dietary Count and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy.

After birth, each child was weighed and measured several times between birth and adolescence, from which the body mass index (BMI) values ​​were calculated.

Finally, the researchers analyzed how the nutritional index points of each mother relate to the growth path of their offspring.

“The feeding of mothers during pregnancy can have a long-term impact on the weight traces of children,” said Dr Monthé-Drèze.

The findings also suggest that there are specific developmental periods when nutrition during pregnancy may affect the growth of offspring.

“We found that a pregnancy diet with a higher inflammatory potential was associated with faster BMI growth rates in children between three and ten years old.”

We also found that a lower adherence to a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy was accompanied by higher BMI trajectories through adolescence. ‘

According to the team, it appears that the mothers’ score on the Alternative Healthy Eating Index did not predict their child’s growth path.

“It is important for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant to advise on the importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy,” said Dr Monthé-Drèze.

“In particular, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should consider a Mediterranean diet, which not only benefits their own health but can also help their child maintain a healthy weight.”

The team explained that a Mediterranean diet has a low inflammatory potential and is rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, fish with low mercury and good quality oils such as extra virgin olive oil.

It provides an important source of vitamin D, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients that are proven to be beneficial to the health of the offspring.

“Research has shown that the foods we eat during pregnancy can affect the metabolism of the growing child, as well as their eating behaviors and food preferences,” Dr Monthé-Drèze explained.

“In addition, the food choices women make during pregnancy are likely to be similar to the food choices they offer their children,” she added.

“Therefore, it is conceivable that maternal nutrition during pregnancy is associated with long-term weight issues in offspring.”

“Additional research is therefore needed to better understand the link between maternal diet during pregnancy and childhood BMI and weight gain patterns.”

The team also suggested that physicians should evaluate the eating habits of mothers during pregnancy to identify children who are at high risk for weight gain.

Furthermore, they should encourage nutritious food choices to support healthy weight during infancy, childhood and adolescence.

“As scientists and as a society as a whole, we have not stopped the tide of increasing childhood obesity,” said Dr Monthé-Drèze.

This failure, she added, “costs mothers and children dearly.”

“There is reason to be optimistic about the future, but we need to conceptualize the problem differently to solve it.”

The full findings of the study were published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.