Published on
Updated
Reading 3 mins.
in collaboration with
Géraldine Dahan Tarrassona (Midwife and editor-in-chief of the magazine “Parole de Sages-femmes”)
Medical validation:
October 19, 2022
Devouring burgers, nuggets or ice cream during pregnancy would have consequences for the unborn child. The latter would be more likely to suffer from overweight or obesity.
Everything that happens in life in utero can have an impact on baby’s life… and of course, food is one of them. A study published in the journal British Medical Journal has thus just demonstrated that the simple fact of consuming ultra-processed foods during pregnancy (frozen meals, sodas, sweets, cold meats, etc.) increases the risk of overweight and obesity in children.
+ 26% risk of having an overweight or obese child
Doctors have been hammering it for a long time: consuming ultra-processed foods is bad for your health. They would promote the appearance of cancers and cardiovascular problems. But the big news is that we now know that nuggets, instant noodles, margarines and other sweet desserts also have an impact on the fetus.
To arrive at this observation, the scientists analyzed, via American databases, the profile of 19,958 children born to 14,553 mothers. They tried to determine the food routine of the mothers but also those of their children.
To do this, the number and frequency of ultra-processed products consumed, the physical activity exercised, weight or tobacco use were among the factors recorded.
At the end of the work, the researchers found that 12% of the children were overweight or obese. In total, the women most fond of ultra-processed foods – consuming nearly 12 servings a day – had a 26% higher risk of having an overweight or obese child.
“Findings show that a mother’s consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity in her offspring“, confirm the authors.
A hypothesis that Dr. Dahan-Tarrasona does not refute, quite the contrary.
” We talk more and more about the period of the first 1000 days and for good reason: many factors can affect the fetus… including diet. If a mother eats poorly, the baby will be directly affected. Indeed, it needs certain nutrients to develop properly and ultra-processed foods only contain “empty calories”, including sugar, salt and additives. “, she specifies.
The expert also points out that all bad habits, including food habits, can affect future generations. This is called “epigenetic mechanisms”.
Follow your pregnancy week by week
Further research to confirm these results
However, like all observational studies (a posteriori collection of eating habits), this work does not allow a cause and effect link to be established.
“Further study is needed to confirm these findings and to understand the factors that may be responsible“, explain the researchers.
Indeed, there may be other differences between mothers who eat processed foods and those who do not that could explain higher childhood obesity. Several of these factors are of course taken into account by the researchers who statistically adjust their results accordingly, but have all the confounding factors been taken into account?
According to the detailed results of the study, it appears that certain ultra-processed products have a greater impact than others on the weight of the child. Thus, bread and breakfast foods seem to be more strongly incriminated, unlike frozen prepared meals… even if statistically speaking, the impact remains debatable. What are the most harmful foods? Why ? Future research should answer these questions.
Finally, the very definition of ultra-processed foods remains the subject of debate and divergent assessments between experts.
Should we reject these results? No, however, the study was conducted on a large number of women and without establishing a causal link, it suggests a real relationship. These results reinforce the need to ensure a good diet, even more so during pregnancy. This is the conclusion of the authors.
Those data “support the importance of refining dietary recommendations and developing programs to improve the nutrition of women of childbearing age in order to promote the health of offspring“, they conclude.