A new study found that mothers consume superprocessed foods can increase their children's risk of being overweight and obese.
researchers wrote in the article that the study highlights the potential benefits of restricting mothers and women of childbearing age to consume ultra-processed foods—which can reduce children’s risk of being overweight. However, we should not ignore the social factors that affect health that may hinder women from reducing their intake of superprocessed foods.
super processed foods include packaged snacks, soft drinks , ready-to-eat foods and candy, etc. It was previously believed to be related to poor cardiovascular health in children, but the connection between mother's diet and child's outcome was not clear in the past. To understand this problem, Dr. Yiqing Wang, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, and his colleagues analyzed two sets of data: one evaluates the impact during pregnancy and the other follows up after the child is born.
In the peripregnancy analysis, the researchers evaluated data from 2790 mothers and 2925 children. They found that intake of ultraprocessed foods during pregnancy was not significantly associated with an increased risk of overweight and obesity in children.
In an independent analysis that evaluates post-birth outcomes, the researchers used data from Nurses Health Study II (an ongoing study that tracked the lifestyle and health of more than 100,000 female nurses aged 25 to 42 years) and today’s growth study (including more than 16,800 children aged 8 to 15 years). They also considered other factors that could affect the study results, such as mother's body mass index (BMI), smoking status, physical activity, and children's hyperprocessed food intake, sitting time and physical activity.
study found that during the average 4-year follow-up period, 12% (2471 cases) of children were overweight or obese, and the intake of ultra-processed foods by mothers was associated with an increased risk of children being overweight or obese. The group with the lowest maternal super-processed food intake (3.4 servings/day) had a 26% lower risk than the group (12.1 servings/day) (HR=1.26, 95%CI: 1.08~1.47, Table 1).
Table 1. Relationship between mothers' intake of superprocessed foods and offspring body weight indicators during child raising
Researchers wrote that as mothers' intake of superprocessed foods increased, their intake of carbohydrates, trans fatty acids and sodium also increased. According to the 2010 Alternative Healthy Diet Index, mothers' intake of protein and overall diet quality both declined. They also noticed that as mothers' intake of ultraprocessed foods increases, their children's overall dietary quality declines, and their intake of ultraprocessed foods increases (P.001).
It is worth noting that hyperprocessed breakfast foods and bread are independently associated with children's risk of overweight or obesity (for every 1 additional standard deviation : RR=1.1, 95%CI: 1.06~1.15, Figure 1). There is no clear mechanism behind this association, and future research is needed to confirm the finding and understand the influencing factors, the researchers wrote.
Figure 1. Relationship between mothers' intake of specific types of hyperprocessed foods during parenting and risk of overweight or obesity for offspring
They believe that mothers can benefit from restricting the intake of hyperprocessed foods. In order to improve women's nutritional status and help reduce childhood obesity, economic and social barriers must be eliminated and dietary guidelines must be improved. It is crucial to develop achievable and responsible dietary guidelines for women of childbearing age to eliminate economic and social structural barriers to healthy food choices.
