Health: Poor diets during pregnancy can put children on the path to weight gain and obesity

Mothers who eat an unhealthy diet during pregnancy can put their children on the road to weight gain and obesity, a study warns.

US researchers examined the link between an expectant mother’s diet and their children’s growth rates 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 is associated with a greater risk of obesity later in childhood, as well as in adolescence and adulthood.

Weight problems can start during pregnancy, the team said, because the pathways that program metabolism, growth, and eating behavior are sensitive to influences in the womb.

The team advises pregnant women to consider a Mediterranean diet, which is rich in plant foods, fish and unsaturated fats, has low inflammatory potential, and can benefit both mother and child health.

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

“To date, studies linking maternal nutrition during pregnancy to progeny growth have focused on the period of newborns and early childhood, with limited data extending into later childhood,” said author Carmen Monthé- Drèze.

“We wanted to gain a better understanding of dynamic growth changes that occur from childhood to adolescence as a result of maternal nutrition during pregnancy,” added the neonatologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

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

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

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

These include the Nutritional Inflammation Index, the Mediterranean Nutrition Score and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index for Pregnancy.

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

Finally, the researchers analyzed how each mother’s nutritional index scores related to the growth trajectory of their offspring.

“Maternal nutrition during pregnancy can affect the weight trajectory of children in the long term,” says Dr. Monthé-Drèze.

In addition, she added, the findings suggest “ there are specific developmental periods in which nutrition during pregnancy can affect offspring growth. ”

“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 lower adherence to a Mediterranean diet during pregnancy was associated with higher BMI ranges during adolescence. ‘

According to the team, the mothers’ score on the Alternate Healthy Eating Index did not seem to predict their child’s growth trajectory.

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

“Women who are pregnant or could become pregnant in particular should consider a Mediterranean diet, which can not only benefit their own health, but also help keep their child at a healthy weight.”

A Mediterranean diet, the team explained, has a low inflammatory potential and is rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, low-mercury fish 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 have been shown to be beneficial for the health of the offspring.

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

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

“It is therefore conceivable that maternal nutrition during pregnancy may be associated with long-term weight problems in the offspring.”

“Therefore, additional research is needed to better understand the relationship between maternal nutrition during pregnancy and children’s BMI and the patterns of weight gain.”

The team also suggested that doctors should evaluate mothers’ dietary habits during pregnancy to identify children who may be at high risk for weight gain.

In addition, they should encourage nutritious food choices to support a healthy weight throughout childhood, childhood and adolescence, she added.

“As scientists and as a society as a whole, we have failed to turn the tide of growing childhood obesity,” said Dr. Monthé-Drèze.

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

“There is reason to be optimistic about the future, but we have to rethink the problem to solve it.”

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