Health: Poor diets during pregnancy can create babies on a path to weight gain and obesity

One study warned that mothers who eat an unhealthy diet during pregnancy could lead their children on a path to weight gain and obesity.

Researchers in the United States have investigated the links between the diet of a pregnant mother and the growth rates 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 meat, was associated with higher weight gain in children between the ages of three and ten.

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

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

The team recommends that pregnant women consider a Mediterranean diet, rich in plant-based foods, fish and unsaturated fats, has a low inflammatory potential and can benefit both the mother’s and the child’s health.

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

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

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

“We especially wanted to assess whether there are distinct periods between birth and adolescence, when weight gain rates are 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 the Viva Project – an ongoing study of maternal and child health at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Massachusetts.

During those pregnancies, each mother was asked to complete food intake questionnaires, which the researchers interpreted in terms of three different dietary indices.

These include the dietary inflammatory index, the Mediterranean diet score 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 values ​​of body mass index (BMI) were calculated.

Finally, the researchers looked at how each mother’s dietary index scores were associated with their offspring’s growth trajectory.

“Maternal nutrition during pregnancy can have a long-term impact on children’s weight trajectories,” said Dr. Monthé-Drèze.

Moreover, she added, the findings suggest “there are specific periods of development in which nutrition during pregnancy can influence the growth of offspring.”

We found that a pregnancy diet with higher inflammatory potential was associated with higher rates of BMI growth in children aged three to ten years.

We also found that lower adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy was associated with higher BMI trajectories through adolescence.

According to the team, the score of mothers on the Alternative Healthy Eating Index does not seem to predict the growth trajectory of their child.

“It is important to advise women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant about 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 can not only benefit their own health, but also help the child maintain a healthy weight.

A Mediterranean-style diet, the team explained, has 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 to the health of offspring.

“Research has shown that the foods we eat during pregnancy can influence the growing baby’s metabolism, as well as their eating behaviors and eating preferences,” explained Dr. Monthé-Drèze.

“In addition, the food choices that women make during pregnancy are probably similar to the food choices they give their children,” she added.

Therefore, it is conceivable that maternal nutrition during pregnancy may be related to long-term weight problems in offspring.

Therefore, further research is needed to better understand the relationship between maternal diet during pregnancy and the child’s BMI and weight gain patterns.

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

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

“As scientists and as a society as a whole, we have not been able to stop the rising tide of childhood obesity,” said Dr. Monthé-Drèze.

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

“There are reasons to be optimistic about the future – however, we need to conceptualize the problem differently to solve it.”

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