Pregnancy Diet Responsible for Childhood Obesity
New research at the University of Southampton states that a mother's pregnancy diet is responsible for altering the DNA of her child through a process called epigenetic change. This can result in childhood obesity in the future.
Studying 300 children from womb to childhood, researchers at Southampton show that a mother's pregnancy diet in the first trimester itself can effect genetic changes in her offspring. These can make her child liable to gain an excess of fatty tissue leading the child to become obese at six or nine years. An analysis of the degree of chemical modification of DNA in the umbilical cord tissue suggests this deduction. As per lead researcher Keith Godfrey, obesity is attributed to a combination of genes, lifestyle, influences on the baby's development in the womb and the mother's pregnancy diet.
Mothers ingesting unhealthy pregnancy diets that include a high intake of chocolate bars, french fries and crispy bacon keeps the weight even after birth, develop high blood pressure or gestational diabetes and usually require a C-section birth.