|
Mothers-to-be child obesity warning |
Guardian 15 August 2007
Pregnant mothers-to-be who “ eat for two” by upping their intake of fatty and sugary food could unwittingly be putting their children at risk of obesity, new research suggests. The same applies to mothers who are breastfeeding, scientists have warned. Unborn babies and developing infants can have their eating habits programmed by their mothers’ food choices, according to the findings. Children exposed to “ maternal junk food “ in the womb or early in life may find it harder to resist an unhealthy diet as they grow older, say the researchers.
Dr Stephanie Bayol, from the Royal Veterinary College in London, said: “ Our study has shown that eating large quantities of junk food when pregnant and breastfeeding could impair the normal control of appetite and promote an exacerbated taste for junk food in offspring. This could send offspring on the road to obesity and make the task of teaching healthy eating habits in children even more challenging.”.
Controlling appetite involves hormones which act on the brain to regulate energy balance, hunger and satiety “ the sensation of feeling full”. However, feeding is not merely mechanical. It is partly governed by reward centres in the brain whose pleasure responses may override normal feeling full signals. Previous research has shown that junk foods rich in fat and sugar inhibit satiety while promoting hunger and stimulating the reward centres.
The new research, carried out on rats, indicates that even before birth, exposure to junk food may induce an unhealthy taste for fatty, sugary treats. Dr Bayol’s team studied 42 pregnant and lactating female rats as well as 216 offspring from weaning to 10 weeks of age. Different groups of animals were either fed normal “ rodent chow “ made from wheat, soya, barley and fish meal, or an array of human junk foods, including doughnuts, biscuits, marshmallows, crisps, cheese and chocolate. Offspring of females fed junk food while they were pregnant, or when they were lactating, showed a marked preference for foods rich in sugar and fat compared with those whose mothers were given a normal diet. They also ate more. |
