A mother’s consumption of ultra-processed foods has been associated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity in her children, according to research. The findings of the study were published in The BMJ. The researchers say further study is needed to confirm these findings and to understand the factors that might be responsible. However, they suggest that mothers might benefit from limiting their intake of ultra-processed foods and that dietary guidelines should be refined and financial and social barriers removed to improve nutrition for women of childbearing age and reduce childhood obesity.
According to the World Health Organization, 39 million children were overweight or obese in 2020, leading to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, cancers, and early death. Ultra-processed foods, such as packaged baked goods and snacks, fizzy drinks and sugary cereals, are commonly found in modern Western-style diets and are associated with weight gain in adults. But it's unclear whether there's a link between a mother's consumption of ultra-processed foods and her offspring's body weight.
To explore this further, the researchers drew on data for 19,958 children born to 14,553 mothers (45% boys, aged 7-17 years at study enrollment) from the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II) and the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS I and II) in the United States. The NHS II is an ongoing study tracking the health and lifestyles of 116,429 US female registered nurses aged 25-42 in 1989. From 1991, participants reported what they ate and drank, using validated food frequency questionnaires every four years.
A range of other potentially influential factors, known to be strongly correlated with childhood obesity, were also taken into account. These included the mother's weight (BMI), physical activity, smoking, living status (with a partner or not), and partner's education, as well as children's ultra-processed food consumption, physical activity, and sedentary time. Overall, 2471 (12%) children developed overweight or obesity during an average follow-up period of 4 years.
The results show that a mother's ultra-processed food consumption was associated with an increased risk of overweight or obesity in her offspring. For example, a 26% higher risk was seen in the group with the highest maternal ultra-processed food consumption (12.1 servings/day) versus the lowest consumption group (3.4 servings/day).
The researchers suggest no clear mechanism underlying these associations and say the area warrants further investigation. Nevertheless, these data "support the importance of refining dietary recommendations and the development of programs to improve nutrition for women of reproductive age to promote offspring health," they conclude.
