Child Obesity: Mother's eating ultra-processed food increases the risk of obesity in children

Elders have often been told to take special care of the food and drink of pregnant mothers. It has also been revealed in many researches that the food and drink of the mother during pregnancy has a huge impact on the baby. A recent research has shown that fetuses also respond to taste. Now scientists have discovered in new research that the consumption of ultra-processed food of the mother increases the risk of obesity or overweight in children. The findings of this study have been published in the journal BMJ. However, the researchers say that more detailed studies are needed to confirm these findings and understand the factors. 

The researchers said that mothers may benefit from reducing their intake of ultra-processed foods. Dietary guidelines should be made clear to countries on food packets to improve nutrition for women of child-bearing age. This will help in reducing childhood obesity. According to the World Health Organization, 39 million children were found to be overweight or obese in the year 2020. This significantly increased the risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and premature death. 

To gather more information, the researchers collected data on 19,958 babies born to 14,553 mothers in the US. Scientists analysed random data to understand the diet and lifestyle of these mothers and children. A range of other potentially influential factors known to be associated with childhood obesity were also taken into account. These included the mother's weight (BMI), physical activity, smoking, living conditions (with or without a partner), and partner's education, as well as the children's consumption of ultra-processed food, physical activity. The study found that 2471 (12%) of the children developed overweight or obesity during a four-year period. 

Research findings suggest that a mother's consumption of highly-processed food was associated with an increased risk of being overweight or obese in her offspring. Additionally, in a separate analysis of 2,790 mothers and 2925 children with dietary information from 3 months before conception to delivery, researchers found that consumption of ultra-processed food during the pre pregnancy period increased the risk of being overweight or obese. was not specifically linked to. Although the researchers recognised that this was an observational study, it could not be proved as causation. Everyone has their own body composition and the energy from food has a different effect. Climate and socio-economic conditions also have an impact. 

Scientists have stressed the need to study in this direction on a broad scale by categorising different backgrounds and socioeconomics. Discussion on this study would be appropriate for building a healthy society. Nutrition for women of reproductive age could be improved if dietary recommendations were further clarified and its effects explained