Last week, a few days before World Obesity Day, the observational study came to light in which it is deduced that The diet of children in their first two years of life, including that of their mother during pregnancy, plays a decisive role in their future health. This study by researchers from University College Dublin (Ireland) concluded that the diet of women during pregnancy can greatly influence the weight of their children.
The latest data confirm that four out of ten children in Spain are overweight or obese. These children will be more likely to have breathing difficulties, an increased risk of fractures and hypertension, insulin resistance, and early markers of cardiovascular disease.
Poorly nourished pregnant women, overweight children
As we have advanced, studies from the University College of Dublin confirm that the mother's diet during pregnancy has a direct influence on the fetus. An unhealthy diet in pregnancy easily leads to childhood obesity. This study has proven to what extent diet during pregnancy affects health in childhood.
Everything that happens in the mother's womb has its consequences on the child's life and its future. And is that the first 1.000 days of life, including the weeks of gestation, are a key period to prevent childhood obesity. At least this is what is deduced from the study carried out during a follow-up of more than 10 years.
This study has been carried out on 16.295 women and their children from Ireland, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Poland. The mothers were on average 30 years old and had a healthy body mass index. The follow-up has been done in children in the first, second and last stages of childhood (up to 11 years). Children born to mothers who ate poorly during pregnancy were likely to have much more fat and less muscle mass than those whose mothers ate a healthier diet.
Study details on feeding in pregnancy
Looking in detail at the study carried out on more than 8.000 pregnant women, and the monitoring of their children, the following conclusions can be obtained:
- la good feeding of the child begins already in the gestation
- opt for diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, nuts and legumes, fruits and vegetables
- y avoid processed foods packed with saturated fat, sugar, and salt.
Both Ling-Wei Chen and the study's lead author, Catherine Phillips, note that children born to mothers who eat a lot of processed foods, packed with sugar and salt, have a higher risk of obesity in childhood. They make clear the importance of the pregnant woman eating well.
Previous research had found that Low levels of muscle mass in children are associated with an increased risk of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. But this observational study does not directly demonstrate cause and effect, nor does it biologically explain why a poor maternal diet could lead to overweight in children.
Consequences of the feeding of the pregnancy in the child
Different studies that show that a poor diet of the mother during pregnancy has the possible consequence of obesity in children, it is explained because (let's say) the fetus has a long-term memory. Both as a child and in adulthood, the person continues to retain much of the information that was retained during pregnancy.
The mother must eat in a variety of ways, providing all varieties of nutrients, vitamins and proteins to your body. In the same way that being overweight is not advisable in pregnant women, neither are low-calorie diets. It is enough that the caloric reduction of future mothers is 20%, so that there are metabolic alterations in the fetus. These will be reflected in childhood.
When there are nutrient deficiencies, the fetus, in its development, adapts to conditions of low food availability. Thus the future organism, when the baby is born, will be more adapted to save energy than to consume it. In the long run this will lead to a propensity for obesity.