Study into Effects of Mums’ Diet on Children

THE effect of women’s diet during pregnancy on the long-term health of their children is to be investigated in the biggest study of its kind.

The five-year research project will for the first time look at how the diet of expectant mothers in different countries around Europe affects their children.

Experts believe that what women eat during pregnancy can lead to nutritional programming of their unborn babies.

They believe poor maternal diet can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, bone health, brain activity and allergies in children when they reach adulthood.

But they are still unclear about exactly which types of food increase the risk of these conditions in later life and the mechanisms involved.

The GBP 10.9m project, which has been funded by the European Commission, will bring together 40 research teams from across Europe to examine the issue.

They also hope to discover whether there are key times when the foetus is more susceptible to nutritional influences.

Diet scientists at Aberdeen’s Rowett Research Institute are among those taking part in the study.

“This is an area of nutrition which is practically still in the Dark Ages,” said Professor Harry McArdle, who is leading the Scottish research.

“The phrase ‘you are what your mum ate’ often pops up, but we know almost nothing about the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.

“If we can clarify some of these, we will be able to give much improved advice about diet during pregnancy which in turn will have significant benefits for health in adulthood.”

The Aberdeen group is planning to focus on the effect of iron deficiency in pregnant women and its effect on unborn children.

Studies have already shown that pregnant women who eat high quantities of fat and carbohydrate are more at risk from maternal diabetes during pregnancy.

Diets high in saturated fat during pregnancy have also been linked to the development of breast cancer in their children.